Time Stands Still
by choose joy xox
Summary: For the past two years the four girls have learned to live life without the dominating presence of Alison DiLaurentis. Watch as the liars begin to navigate a world with Ali back in it. 'Now I have five little liars to play with. How fun! xo -A' A Spoby-centric Season 5 speculation story!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay guys! New story! This should be considered by Season 5 speculation fic. I had no intention of writing this until I was asked to by several people on tumblr. I live to please. I can't promise fast updates, but yeah I'll try. I have about half of this story outlined out, and I know where I want to go with it. I've got a game plan!**

**This story begins immediately where Season 4 cuts off. ****For these first few chapters I'm trying to keep it to what we know so far in the show. This will be a Spoby centric story. Haleb is the only couple I have any interest in writing, but I honestly think my chapters are best from Spencer's POV. Sometimes I'll through in a Hanna, though! :) Okay yeah. REVIEW. If I don't get a lot of reviews I tend to update much slower. So review and let me know what you think! :)**

**I want to reiterated that this story IS NOT a sequel to Unchained Melody. That was a story of trying to be different. THIS IS WHAT I REALLY THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Okay, this is all. Happy reading!**

**Sidenote, I graduate on Saturday. UH WHAT? Is this real life?**

Chapter 1

"Help! Somebody help!"

Screaming was no use. Yelling for help was attracting no one. Spencer pulled herself to her feet and stumbled to the edge of the building. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the rough concrete ledge. The wind whipped through her hair, billowing it out behind her. She knew what she had to do, but she wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

She spun on her heal and went back to her friends. "Guys, I'm going to go find a phone."

"Wait, no Spence-"

Spencer shook her head, ignoring the dread building up in her stomach. This was a terrible idea, but she didn't need an escort. It wasn't like two of them facing off a gun would be any easier than one of them. A gun was a gun. -A would shoot the two of them just as easily as they would shoot one of them. She had to keep the other three safe. It may have been illogical, but in her mind she knew that everything would be fine as long as the three of them stayed safe. "No Em. Stay here, okay? I promise I'll be right back."

She made eye contact with Alison before sliding through the heavy iron door. There was always an intense rivalry between her and Alison, but she knew that she could trust her to look after the other three. At least she hoped she could. She didn't have a choice right now, regardless. Someone had to go get help for Ezra.

Speaking of Ezra, she literally had no idea what was going on right now. Aria had told them that he was just writing a book, but she hadn't believed that. Whether it was valid or not, it was still incredibly creepy. But it also felt like it was too good to be true; like it was something that Ezra had just said to distract Aria from the truth. However, she supposed that there was nothing that said love like literally taking a bullet for another person.

It didn't take her long to find a payphone. She immediately lifted the antiquated receiver and punched in the number with trembling fingers. The operator answered after just a single ring _"911, what's your emergency?"_

"Hi, oh thank God." Her voice was much more breathless than she had realized. "My friend's boyfriend got shot."

_"Okay, honey. I have your location listed here and an ambulance should be there within a matter of minutes. What else can you tell me about the condition of the injured?"_

"Okay, well he was still conscious when I left. I had to run downstairs to find a phone. They're on the roof."

_"Where was he shot at?"_

"In the abdomen. Listen, can I go back to my friends? I'm sure they're all panicking..." She trailed off uncertainly. She needed to make sure that they were okay. If -A came back and hurt them while she was down here she'd never forgive herself.

_"Usually I'd want to keep you on the line until the ambulance was there, but I think that's appropriate under the circumstances. Just try to slow the bleeding as much as you can and an ambulance will be there shortly."_

"Thank you," she quickly replied and hung up the phone. As she was taking the stairs, two at a time, she heard the distant sound of sirens. Hopefully they would be there in time to save Ezra.

She pushed through the heavy door again and stumbled her way to her friends. She was moving so quickly that her feet were having trouble keeping up. "How is he?" She asked quickly, dropping to her knees.

Her question was directed at Aria, but she had grown too hysterical to offer an adequate response. She didn't blame her. Had it been Toby- No she didn't even want to think about Toby in a position like this. Hanna answered for her. "He passed out a few minutes ago. Is that ambulance for us?"

"Yeah, but it still sounds pretty far away." She studied Aria's face closely. "Aria, I'm going to try to stop his bleeding, okay? I took a first aid class last semester, and I remember what to do."

Aria nodded and wiped away her tears. "Do what you can."

Spencer nodded, steeling herself for her grisly task. The sight of blood was enough to make her feel squeamish, and the thought of it pooling underneath her hands was enough to make her want to vomit. But she would do this for Aria. And she would do it for Ezra, because as creepy as she found him, he had just literally and truly taken a bullet for them. This was the least she could do.

She took off her jacket and got on her knees next to Ezra's chest. "Sorry if this hurts, Mr. Fitz," she said softly, just in case he could still hear her. She pressed both hands firmly against the wound. The squelching noise that her hands made was almost too much, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The ambulance needed to get here soon, because she wasn't cut out to be a flipping paramedic.

The sirens grew louder, and Alison stood close to the edge. She leaned over the side. "There's an ambulance outside. Thank God. Should someone go down and show them where to go?"

"I can if-" Spencer began, but she was immediately cut off by a snort of disapproval from Emily.

"No Spence, I got it this time." Emily walked through the door without another word.

Spencer couldn't help but smile. Emily in general was pretty great, but this was her favorite kind of Emily. Confident, protective, not afraid to call you out on your bull shit. She turned to look at Aria and her smile faded. "He'll be fine, Aria. You and Ezra will be fine, if that's what you want. He made a huge mistake. But you love him, and I think that this proves that he loves you."

"It's not that simple," she whispered, brushing a hand across Ezra's face.

"It can be if you let it. When Toby-" she paused, not wanting to talk about this at all, but knowing that it was something that Aria needed to hear, "When Toby joined the -A Team I thought my life was over. I really did. You know how hard it is for me to open myself up. You know how much trouble I have letting people in. I trusted Toby with _everything. _I told him about my family and my childhood insecurities. I let him see me vulnerable, and I gave myself to him in ways that I never thought I'd feel comfortable doing. And when I saw him in that black hoodie I thought that it was all a lie. I thought that he was using me. But it turns out that there was more to the story, and that he was doing it to protect me. It was not a good idea. It was wrong, misguided, and probably did more harm than it did good. But his intentions were the purest. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he loves me. Forgiving him- some might look at it as dumb, but I look at it as the best decision that I ever made."

"It's different though, Spencer. Toby did what he did out of love. Ezra did what he did out of greed. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget that he was using me." Aria bit her lip and looked away. They had been friends for almost 100% of her life, so she knew that Aria was trying to hide her tears.

"What Caleb did with Jenna," Hanna began. Her voice was thick with emotion over talking about Caleb. "was out of greed. He wanted money. And I never thought that I'd be able to forgive him either. But I did. And it might not have worked out between us in the long run, but I'll never regret the time I had with him. He showed me that I was worth something, and I'll always owe him gratitude for that. Fitz is a creep, but if he makes you happy you should be with him."

"I wouldn't have said it like that, but Hanna's right," Spencer smiled at the blonde at her use of the familiar words. Her hands adjusted slightly to see if the bleeding was slowing, and she was discouraged by rapidly flowing blood beneath her fingers. Come on Ezra.

"I love it when you say that," Hanna laughed and glanced over at the edge of the building where Alison was staring off into the distance.

Spencer considered calling for Alison, but before she could Emily, followed by three paramedics and a stretcher, burst through the door.

Her hands were quickly replaced by the hands of the more capable paramedic. As soon as she was free she went to stand next to Alison. Hanna and Emily could take care of Aria while she figured out the plans of their illusive blonde companion. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Her words eerily matched Ezra's from earlier.

"It really is." Alison's voice grated on her nerves, but it also made her feel strangely relieved. They had had their fair share of problems, but she never wished her dead.

"Spencer?" Alison's voice was saturated with the vulnerability of this evening. It had only been directed at the other girls before this moment.

She looked at her questioningly, but she didn't speak. She didn't want to scared her off from saying what she needed to say.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. And I'm sorry for how I treated you today."

Of all the things that Alison could have said, that wasn't what she was expecting. "Then why did you do it?"

"Treat you badly today? It's just- I don't know, I guess I expected you to step up as the leader when I left. Who else could have? But I didn't expect you to be better at it than me."

Was she kidding? No one was a better leader than Alison DiLaurentis. "That's not true."

"You are Spencer. I swear to God, those three would do anything for you. I was just jealous I guess." Her voice took on a wistful tone, and she turned to look out over the city. "I kind of love the anonymity of it all, you know?"

She did know, and she couldn't wait to get out of Rosewood and experience it for herself. But that's not the part of Alison's words that she needed to reply to. "Alison, we literally just spent the last two years practically killing ourselves to either solve your apparent murder or help you to come home."

"Yeah but that was out of obligation. They would help you out of love." Alison shrugged and shot her a sad smile. "I love you, Spence. I really do. I just wish I could inspire loyalty like you. You're the best kind of leader. People want to follow you because they think you're worth following. People follow me because they're afraid of me."

Spencer paused as she noted the sad tone in Alison's voice. Part of her had thought that this was an act, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe she had learned something. "I can forgive you for what you did to me. Really, I was strong enough to take it. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't thrilled about it, but whatever. What I'm going to have trouble forgetting is the way that you treated the other three and Toby; especially Toby. They weren't as strong as I was."

"I wasn't the only one involved in the Toby things, Spencer." Some of the harshness that usually characterized Alison's voice was back. There was the girl she knew and kind of hated.

"Trust me, I know. And there is nothing in my life that I regret more. But I've made all the apologies that he'll let me make." She would spend the rest of her life trying to make that up to Toby if she could. But he wouldn't let her. He forgave her, and she knew that she could forgive Alison as well; this was assuming that she showed any degree of remorse.

"I'll apologize to him. You don't have to worry. I'm going to come back with you guys because you're right. I have a lot to make up for."

Spencer was going to tell her that moving forward was more important than dwelling in the past, but she was interrupted by a loud crash from the door to the roof. Her body tensed and her head whipped to the side. She only relaxed marginally as she took in the unwelcome sight of Noel Kahn. This was very opportune timing on his part. Maybe too good of timing.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" His eyes traveled from girl to girl before lingering on the bloodstain on the concrete. "Are you alright?"

Why the hell were they trusting Noel Kahn? Because Alison trusted him? They were in this entire mess because Alison trusted someone that she shouldn't have. He literally took their phones, their only form of communication. Then he was gone for nearly the exact amount of time that -A was chasing them, and that Ezra was hurt. How could she not be suspicious?

"We had a bit of a run in with the devil," Hanna replied in a tired voice. "Can we just get back to Rosewood?"

Spencer didn't want to get into a car with him. She would have much rather called her parents. But no one else was arguing, and she certainly wasn't going to leave Hanna and Emily to deal with him on their own.

"Where's Aria?" He questioned warily.

"Don't worry about it," Emily interjected hastily. "Let's just go."

He shrugged and led the way to the car. The drive back to Hanna's car was long and tedious. She just wanted to get home. She wanted to explain to her parents what had happened. She wanted to show them that Alison was alive. She wanted them to finally realize that she wasn't capable of murder.

But as they pulled into Philadelphia her heart dropped as she took in the sight of police cars surrounding Hanna's car. What the hell could be happening now?

Hanna warily climbed out of the backseat first, and approached the closest officer. "Sir, this is my car. Is there a problem?"

"Hanna Marin? Are Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields, and Aria Montgomery with you as well?"

Spencer stepped up next to Hanna. "Aria left us, but Emily and I are here. What's the problem?"

"We're under orders to bring you back to Rosewood. Please follow us in your vehicle."

This guy was talking like they were in the freaking army. They were a couple of high school girls. What the hell were they going to do? But she nodded and climbed into the backseat of Hanna's car, knowing that the other girls would follow. She glanced through the tinted glass of the back window and watched as Noel walked away. Of course the slimy bastard would get out of this without trouble.

Her eyes warily met Alison's. "Are you sure you want to do this, Ali? There's no turning back once Rosewood realizes you're alive."

She smiled tightly and nodded. "It's time to come home."

Spencer nodded thoughtfully. She settled into the seat and watched the bright lights of Philadelphia get smaller and smaller as they drove back toward their own personal hell.

-A's POV

The ground was satisfactorily packed beneath their feet. Someone would find the body before too long. They hadn't covered their trail all that well, but that was what they wanted. That was their intended purpose. Rosewood had no idea what was coming for them.

They pulled at their phone, and for the first time they quickly tapped out a text message to all five girls.

'Now I have five little liars to play with. What fun! Make sure you check out the surprise I left for you in the DiLaurentis backyard! xo -A'

**Next Chapter**

_She pressed her clammy forehead to the cool glass of the window. It felt nice. She had been running on adrenaline for the past few hours. It was enough to make her body forget about the withdraw, but now it was coming back full force. Her stomach ached, her skin was sweaty, and her head was throbbing. Her body still craved the drugs._

_"Spencer, do you want anything to eat or drink? We need to talk to you about something."_

_"I'd love you talk," she began softly, "but I think that I need to lay down for a bit first. Can we do it in an hour or so?"_

_If she wasn't feeling so shitty she would have noticed the significant look that her parents exchanged. Mrs. Hastings reached back and cupped Spencer's knee with a trembling hand. "I love you Spencer."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Everyone who asked if Caleb will show up in this story, YES. Haleb is my second favorite ship in PLL, and I'm not going to write a story without them! I'm trying to make it realistic to the show, though. So like, he'll be around in chapter 4 or 5.**

**Also, as I said, this story will be VERY Spoby centric, but there will also be a lot of Haleb. Probably as little Ezria as I can get away from. And I still haven't decided between Paily and Emison, tbh. Preference? Review and tall me!**

**Also, ELEVEN REVIEWS for this story so far!? You guys are the best!**

Chapter 2

SPOV

Spencer's stomach clenched with annoyance as the portly police officer led them through the round about halls of the Rosewood Police Department. You would think she would have had an internal map at this point, but she was as lost as anyone.

"Spencer!"

It was like a heavy burden lifted off of her heart at the sound of her mother's voice. She didn't always get along with her parents. There were so many fundamental differences between them. But what didn't matter. She knew that they would do whatever it took to protect her, and she couldn't feel more relieved as she turned around. "Mom. Dad." She sighed and quickly hugged her mother.

"Oh Spencer. Why didn't you tell us that Alison was still alive?" The older woman pulled away and cupped her cheek with her hand.

Spencer leaned into her mother's reassuring hand. "It wasn't safe."

"We're your parents, Spencer. We were supposed to be the ones to protect you. Not the other way around."

Her mother looked close to tears, and her father looked equally upset. This wasn't supposed to happen. She didn't tell them to protect them. It wasn't supposed to upset them.

"Miss Hastings, I think that we'll begin with you. If you'll follow me..." The portly police officer trailed off and directed her toward a side door.

"Absolutely not," Mr. Hastings interjected. "You will not be speaking to any of these girls on their own. I will go with my daughter. Find another officer, and my wife will stay with you and the other girl that you choose." He didn't wait for a response as he walked into the room.

Spencer smiled at her dad's brazen. She definitely got her attitude honestly. She followed behind him, knowing the cop wouldn't be far behind. She shot a reassuring smile at the nervous faces of her friends. Alison didn't need confidence, but Hanna and Emily might. She caught sight of Alison following her mother into another room right before the door was shut.

"Alright Miss Hastings, can you tell me what happened tonight?"

Spencer sighed deeply and began to regale the story of her own personal nightmare. She began meekly as she told of her addiction to Adderall, her visions of hurting Alison, actually realizing that Alison was still alive. She left no details, besides issues directly related to -A. The time for secrets was done. She would tell them as much as she could.

"Why didn't you come to us sooner?" The police officer was genuinely confused, which made her think that perhaps he was new at his job. It was good that mind reading was an impossibility, because if anyone could hear her thoughts they would think she was quite the condescending bitch.

"It wasn't safe. Alison made it sound as though someone were after her. We didn't want to put her at risk." It was a simple concept.

"Are you saying that you didn't hurt Alison yourself?"

Twelve hours ago she would have been unsure of her answer, but now she was offended. How dare he insinuate that she was capable of something like that? "Absolutely not, and I don't appreciate the accusation."

The police officer opened his mouth, but her father immediately cut him off. "No, that will be all." He turned to Spencer with an unfathomable look in his tired eyes. "Spencer, go out into the waiting area. Send either Emily or Hanna in here, and don't talk to anyone."

She nodded silently and left the room. Her shoulders sagged with relief as soon as soon as she exited. It was like the air was lighter out here. She walked into the waiting room and was met by Hanna's worried eyes. "Spence, how'd it go?"

"Fine. Go talk to the cop, okay? My dad won't let him ask you anything too bad."

She nodded briskly and walked off down the hallway that Spencer had just vacated. Spencer closed her eyes and slumped down in her seat, completely exhausted. She didn't move when Alison and Emily returned with her mother. She barely acknowledged the eventual return of her father and Hanna. She spent the walk back to her car on autopilot, barely recalling as she said goodbye to her friends.

She pressed her clammy forehead to the cool glass of the window. It felt nice. She had been running on adrenaline for the past few hours. It was enough to make her body forget about the withdraw, but now it was coming back full force. Her stomach ached, her skin was sweaty, and her head was throbbing. Her body still craved the drugs.

"Spencer, do you want anything to eat or drink? We need to talk to you about something."

"I'd love you talk," she began softly, "but I think that I need to lay down for a bit first. Can we do it in an hour or so?"

If she wasn't feeling so shitty she would have noticed the significant look that her parents exchanged. Mrs. Hastings reached back and cupped Spencer's knee with a trembling hand. "I love you Spencer."

She looked up in alarm, her pain temporarily forgetting how horrible she felt. Her parents never said things like that. "I love you too," she replied hastily. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," she replied soothingly. "It's just that your sister's home. Apparently Toby went to find her."

It was ridiculous the effect that Toby had on her. Even his name caused her stomach to twist with emotion. But she didn't understand. Why would he have gone to get Melissa. "Did she explain why he went, or where he is?"

"No," she replied as her father pulled into the driveway. "She said she had to go do something, and that she'd be back soon. If you want to go lay down I'll be sure to send her up when she gets back."

Spencer nodded wordlessly as she took the stairs up to her bedroom. Her legs shook as she climbed into her tall bed. Life was really and truly exhausting right now. All she wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep for the rest of her life. She didn't know for sure why Toby went to London, but she had a good idea.

_"Melissa drives me crazy!"_

_Toby bent down to press a gentle kiss to her temple. "What do you mean?"_

_She sighed and leaned against him. She tucked her face into the crook of his neck. "It's a long story."_

_"I've got all the time in the world for you, Spence." His capable hand stroked her hair from the crown of his head to the hallow space between her shoulders._

_"I went through a very difficult time two years ago, the summer before Ali went missing. I was doing some stupid things that I don't want to get into. But every single time that I got inconsolable Melissa was there to help me. She held my hand and talked me through it. She was the only one who could calm me down. I owe her a lot. But more often then not she's just terrible. But in a bad situation she's the best." Talking about the days of her addiction were painful, but the dull ache lessened slightly as she shared some of her past with Toby. She loved him so much._

_"I'm glad that she was there for you," he replied simply, never asking for details or explanation. Simply offering the truest kind of support. He was the best in the world._

As annoyed as she was that Toby had traveled across the world without telling her, she couldn't stop the small smile from stretching across her face. She really did love him. So much.

She curled up on her side, facing the far wall. She stared at the white washed color, trying to toss any negative thoughts from her overworked mind. She needed to sleep. She felt achy and dehydrated. But she couldn't seem to turn her brain off. She just wanted to sleep.

It took awhile, but slowly and surely she felt her body relaxing and starting to shut down. Today had just been too much. She went from feeling like a murderer, to almost getting attacked by a bear trap, to seeing her English teacher get shot, to being questioned by the police. Her life was just the best.

Just as her eyes finally shut she heard her door open softly. She was too tired to move, so she simply waited for them to leave. She assumed that no one would bother her. But she was wrong. The bed shifted as someone joined her on the soft mattress.

She groaned softly and forced herself to roll over, expecting to see her mother. But her heart nearly stopped as she took in Toby's face. He was smiling softly as he ran a calloused hand over her feverish cheek. For just a moment she stared at him in absolute shock. But once she was able to control herself she shot upwards and wrapped both arms tightly around his neck. "Toby," she whispered into his neck.

She clung to him for dear life. It was like he was her life preserver in the raging sea that was life. She was drowning, but when Toby was here, when Toby held onto her, she knew that she was safe. She knew that nothing could ever hurt her.

"You're alright," he murmured. "I've got you. You're alright."

To her embarrassment she felt wetness trailing down her cheeks. She was crying. But she couldn't help it. Her relief was incomprehensible. He was here. He was alive, and he was with her. "I-" she began, but she could go on. Her stomach hurt, and her eyes stung with the intensity of her tears. "I-"

"I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry. But I love you. I love you so much, sweetheart. Everything will be fine." His strong hand smoothed down her unruly hair. "You're safe, I promise."

Toby's arms tightened around her and lowered her down to the soft mattress. His lips found the top of her head, and he peppered gentle kisses across her face. "I love you so much. Are you okay?"

She nodded into his neck, where she had tucked her face. "I am now. Don't leave me again," she murmured quietly.

"I'm sorry I did at all. I wouldn't have, but your mom said that I wouldn't be able to see you. I had to do something. I couldn't bear to just sit in my apartment when I knew that you needed help. I couldn't do nothing. I had to help you. And I remembered what you told me about Melissa-"

"No, Toby," she pulled away so that she could look into his eyes. "No, don't feel bad. I would have done the exact same thing for you. I was just worried about you. Some stuff happened and I wish I could have talked to you, but you couldn't have anticipated that. You did what you had to do."

"What happened?" His face was wary, but his eyes were earnest. He wanted to know.

"I just- I guess I needed you to remind me that I wasn't a terrible person." She didn't want to get into details, but that was the most important thing.

"What? Spencer, why would you even think that?" He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "You're not a terrible person."

She nodded and looked away. She hadn't hurt Ali, but who knows if she did anything to that other girl.

His hands were unrelenting as he forced her to look into his eyes. "No, Spencer. Listen to me for a minute. You are the best person I know. You're loyal as hell to your friends, even when they don't deserve it. The same with your family. And me? You saved me Spencer. I was the town's outcast. I was hated by everyone. But you looked past all of that and you loved me anyway. Spencer you aren't a terrible person. I love you."

She nodded, the tears pooling in her eyes again. This is why she called him. Alison was right. He had a way of speaking that made you just believe him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he murmured, released her face and pulling her to him.

She pressed a gentle kiss to his neck before pulling away. "I know you went to London, Toby. But why?"

Her eyes looked carefully into his as she waited for him to tell his story.

**Next Chapter:**

_"There are things that I haven't told you Spencer. Things that I need to tell you. But I'm afraid that if I do you'll hate me forever."_

_Spencer frowned, but she didn't take her eyes off of Melissa. "Just tell me, okay? I can't promise anything, but I'll try to listen." She tightened her grip on Toby's hand, knowing that she was going to need his comfort to get her through this._

_"Okay, Melissa sighed. She took a deep breath before beginning her story. _


	3. Chapter 3

**I took a couple liberties in this chapter, assuming small convos didn't happen. You should know them when you see them!**

**You're lucky I'm in a good mood, because this is LONG. I was going to cut it into two chapters, but I figured in the spirit of the pain of the hiatus I would post it all! Enjoy your answers!**

**As always, reviews are the fuel that keep me going. Want a fast update? Review! Also, to answer the reviews again, Caleb is not in the next chapter, but he is in the one after that. And the one after THAT is from Hanna's POV. Keep reading Haleb shippers. Promise, I love them to the moon and back. I'll do everything I can to do justice to that beautiful ship!**

**ALSO, TEN REVIEWS!? You guys are phenomenal! **

Chapter 3

SPOV

Toby's face was lined with tension as he struggled to figure out how to tell Spencer what she needed to know. She rolled over so that he could have better access to her eyes.

She gently cupped either of his cheeks, her tears long forgotten. She hated it when she brought out Toby's insecure side. "Hey. Whatever you did, why ever you did it... it doesn't change anything. I love you. And I love that you were so willing to help me. I just want to know."

He nodded silently. "I just wish I had all the information before I did it-" he said softly.

Damn it, she had to stop this shit. She had to stop. Toby didn't deserve to be treated like this. He didn't deserve to be lied to. He didn't deserve a girlfriend who brought out his insecure side. "I won't lie to you anymore, Toby."

He looked up back up at her, and as much as he tried to hide it she could see the hope in his eyes. "You don't have to tell me everything Spencer. I just-"

She shook her head to cut him off. "No. No, Toby seriously. There's no reason to lie to you anymore. You don't deserve it. I know that I can trust you, and I'm sorry."

He opened his mouth to talk, but then she realized that she could prove it to him right now. He didn't know about Alison. "I actually have something to tell you now."

He nodded, his eyes wary. She really hoped that he wouldn't be mad at her, but she couldn't keep this from him anymore. She shouldn't have kept it from him to begin with. "Toby, Alison is still alive. I've seen her, and I helped her escape from -A last night. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you, but..." she trailed off, having no idea how to finish that sentence. She was sorry. She was so, so sorry. But saying that didn't feel like enough.

A roller coaster of emotion passed over his face. Pain. Fear. Apprehension. Annoyance. And she couldn't blame him. She had a shameful part in his tragic past, but it was perpetuated by Alison. She knew what Jenna was doing to Toby and did nothing to help him. She caused him to lose a year of his life for something he hadn't even done. She allowed him to take the blame for murdering her, when all he did was give her his damn jacket. She hurt Toby as much, if not more than she hurt anyone else.

After a moment of indecision, Toby finally settled on concern. "Is she the one that made you feel like a horrible person?"

Was he kidding? Of all the things in the world for him to latch onto it was that. "Indirectly, maybe. But that's not what I'm worried about right now. Are you okay, Toby?"

"As long as you are I'll make do. Just don't expect me to suddenly be best friends with her." He brushed a hand across her cheek and dropped a kiss to her forehead.

She tilted upward and met his lips with her own instead. After being apart for so long it would take an immeasurable number of kisses to make up for lost time. When they broke apart she tilted her head to the side and smiled carefully at him. "I'm not even sure that _I _want to be friends with her, so that won't be an issue. I love you. I'm sorry for lying to you."

"I'm not thrilled about it, but I understand, sweetheart. You felt obligated to help her. I understand." He tangled his right hand in her hair and pulled her back against his chest.

The two of them laid there in silence for a few moments. For the first time since she was at his apartment, when she went to apologize and he begged her to call him if the addiction became too much to resist, she felt truly safe. She knew that nothing could hurt her while she was wrapped up in Toby like this. She knew that like she knew anything. She knew it like she knew that the sun would rise in the morning and set at night. She knew it like she knew that her heart would continue to beat and air would continue to fill her lung. She knew it like she knew her friends would always be her support system. Toby Cavanaugh's love was one of the only constants in her screwed up life.

"Spence? If it wasn't Alison what was it that upset you so much?" His voice was tentative, like he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

She wanted to tell it again about as much as he wanted to hear it. But she wouldn't deprive him of anything he wanted to know. Not anymore. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder for a minute before responding, needing as much comfort as possible to tell tell this story. "I thought that I was the one that hit Alison."

He sucked in a short gasp of breath and pulled her even closer to him. "What? Spence you can't have- What?"

She laughed bitterly. It was good to hear his shock. "The drugs screwed with my memory. I don't remember anything from the night that Alison's disappeared. But I started to have these weird visions that made it look like I hurt her."

"You couldn't have-" he began again, but she cut him off. This was already resolved. She needed to hear about his London trip.

"I know, Toby. Alison explained it to me. It must have just been my mind playing tricks on me. But I love you for believing so fully in me." She pulled away and kissed him with much more passion than she usually displayed. She could tell him how much she loved him from now until the end of the world, but for him to truly believe it she had to show him.

She could have kissed him all day, but before it got too heated she pulled away and cupped one of his cheeks with a steady hand. "Can you tell me about London now?"

He simply looked at her for a moment before nodding. His eyes and the tension in his face all suggested his reluctance, but she knew that he'd tell her what she needed to know. "I went there because you told me once how helpful Melissa was to you during a crisis situation. And I thought that if anything constituted a crisis this was it. I didn't want to leave you. I wanted to stay in town just in case you needed me, but I couldn't stand to just sit around in my apartment. So I wrote you that letter and I flew to London."

She had about a million questions, but she bit her tongue. She would give him the chance to explain first.

He looked surprised that she didn't question him, but he shook it off and continued. "When I got there it took me a day or so to hunt Melissa down. I didn't have her number, and I couldn't talk to you. And I certainly wasn't going to ask your parents. But eventually I was able to hunt her down. That's when it became complicated. I just- I'm not sure if I should let Melissa explain this part to you."

"No," she immediately shook her head. "You tell me what you know."

He sighed and nodded. "I went to her house, and Melissa answered the door. She pulled me into a side room and anxiously asked me why I was there. Then she proceeded to explain to me that her internship ended two weeks ago. That she was still in London to keep an eye on Wren. We thought that he went there because Melissa and Wren were working together, but that's not what happened. Melissa invited Wren to London so that she could keep an eye on him."

That didn't make any sense. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't really know for sure. She was vague. But she agreed to come back to help you, but she asked me to stay and watch Wren."

"Why?" She repeated herself, not understanding what was going on.

"She didn't tell me. She just told me that he was a danger to you, and that I shouldn't let him out of my sight. She told me to give her enough time to get home and then I could follow her. So that's what I did. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry that I left when it would have been better for you to have me here, I just..." he trailed off, unsure how to continue.

Spencer had about a million questions, but she knew that they were all things that he couldn't answer. She needed to go talk to Melissa. But for right now she was content to stay here with him. She was content to comfort him, and to let him know how much she loved him. Because there was no reason for him to feel guilty. She pulled away slightly so that he could see her eyes. She wanted to make sure that he could feel every sincere emotion that she was currently struggling with. "I love you." She said it slowly and sincerely, letting the emotion swell with each syllable. "I love you."

He didn't respond. Instead he crushed her to him and their lips met together in a fit of passion. He didn't have to say anything. This was enough. This was always enough. He loved her more than she deserved, and he proved it to her every single day. This wasn't the first time that he had dropped everything to protect her, and she was certain that it wouldn't be the last. How had she gotten so lucky to find him?

Breaking away to catch his breath he moved his lips down to her neck. "If it wasn't obvious, I love you too."

* * *

She clutched his hand tightly, fairly certain that she was cutting off his circulation, as they walked into the barn. First she satisfied her physical need for her boyfriend, and now she was satisfying her inquisitive side. Melissa knew more than she was letting on. She always had. It was time to end that.

Toby walked silently next to her, content to comfort her with his presence. And that he did. She didn't know if she could do this without him.

"Melissa?" She rose her voice to the point that Melissa would be able to hear her, She still wasn't feeling well, so even that made her throat hurt,

Toby must have noticed her wince because he brushed his thumb over her knuckles. "Everything will be fine."

She only gave him a weak smile as she heard footsteps above her head. Part of her wished that Melissa would never come down, but she knew that it was necessary.

"Spence-" Melissa's voice sounded about as reluctant as her own as she walked down the stairs. "I- I'm glad you're alright."

Spencer nodded and turned different conversation starters around her mind. "Melissa I-"

"Spence-"

The two of them spoke at the same time, causing a spattering of uncomfortable laughter to saturate the living room. Spencer nodded at Melissa to go ahead and speak.

Melissa looked down at the ground. "There are things that I haven't told you Spencer. Things that I need to tell you. But I'm afraid that if I do you'll hate me forever."

Spencer frowned, but she didn't take her eyes off of Melissa. "Just tell me, okay? I can't promise anything, but I'll try to listen." She tightened her grip on Toby's hand, knowing that she was going to need his comfort to get her through this.

"You- you should call your friends. This effects all of you."

That was a good point. She wanted to keep Toby away from Alison for as long as possible, but she supposed that it was unavoidable. It was better to rip that particular band aid off when she was there to protect him. She pulled out her phone and shot Hanna, Emily, and Alison an SOS text.

"I should probably go..." Toby began, but he trailed off when he saw her alarmed face. "Or not?"

"Stay," she said firmly, tightening her grip on his hand.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her, passing on some of the comfort that she was so desperate for. He always knew exactly what she needed.

The three of them sat, largely in silence, as they waited for the other girls to arrive. She felt Toby tense around her as Alison walked into the living room, and she said the blonde look at him and then look down at the ground immediately. Good. She should be ashamed of the way that she treated him.

Hanna and Emily followed behind Alison. As soon as Melissa saw that they were all there she cleared her throat. "I- I should have told you all this a long time ago." Her eyes lingered on Spencer for a moment before pausing to make eye contact with each girl. "I just didn't know how to. I thought it was safer if you didn't know. But now I think you have too."

She paused and looked at Alison. "Alison, do they know about Detective Wilden?"

Spencer saw the shoulders of her former best friend tense at the question. "No."

"Well..." Melissa paused, waiting to see if Alison wanted to tell them. When she made no move to speak, Melissa began to explain. "Alison and Detective Wilden had a relationship. Alison became pregnant. She lost the baby shortly after, but it was still enough blackmail material for -A."

"Are you kidding?" Spencer wrinkled her nose. What was it with her friends and inappropriate relationships? "No wonder he hated us so much. He probably thought that we knew."

Alison shrugged. "He was cute. I didn't realize he was such a freaking psycho."

"He was almost your father's age!" Emily's voice was defensive. Spencer knew that Emily had feelings for Alison, so perhaps it stemmed from that.

"Because you all have made relationship choices that were the epitome of perfection in the past. Em, you dated that stone chick. Hanna dated sketchy hacker boy. And Spence?"

Spencer gave Alison her best glare. If she said anything about Toby she couldn't be held responsible for her actions.

Alison flashed her her trademark smirk. "Spencer dated Melissa's boyfriends twice. We all made mistakes."

Everyone deserved a mistake in their love life, right? Ian was her biggest mistake with an honorable mention to Wren.

"Enough of this," Melissa cut off what was sure to be a massive snark session. "Shortly after Alison went missing Darren approached me. He told me about -A, and said that we had a chance to protect the four of you."

"Wait, how did Wilden know about -A?" Hanna glanced between Melissa and Spencer. That was actually a really good question.

"I mean this in the nicest way possible, but do you bitches not listen to anything?" Melissa groaned in annoyance. "-A was blackmailing him too. How do you think that they got away with everything? They absolutely had to have someone in the police department. The bugging of your shrink's office, later kidnapping her, stealing a body... They couldn't have done that without having the police in their pocket. They were holding Alison's pregnancy over his head."

Spencer sunk to a chair, her mind whirling with the possibilities. They had suspected that Wilden was on the -A team, but they never thought that he was being directly blackmailed. If -A was blackmailing Wilden than who else were the blackmailing? "Was this happening to anyone else?"

Melissa gave Spencer a semi-proud half smile. The sisters may have had an intense rivalry, but that didn't mean that their love for each other was any less. "I didn't just go to London for my internship..."

Suddenly all the dots connected in Spencer's mind. "You went to London because you knew that Wren would follow you. Wren is working for -A?"

Melissa nodded shortly. "That's why I started a relationship with him. I didn't think the pervert would hit on my baby sister, but I needed to get close to him. That seemed like the best way. It seems like he had the same orders when it came to you, Spencer. I don't know how -A knows them, but they do. He's been providing them with medical information for years. He changed your medical records twice, Em. First to make it look like you were taking performance enhancing drugs, and then again to say you hurt your shoulder more badly than you actually did. He also provided the drugs that -A used against you all multiple times. He may have done more, but that's all that I know for certain."

"What were you hoping to accomplish?" Spencer asked her sister. She could feel the eyes of the other girls and Toby on her, but this felt more like a conversation between the two sisters. They had always battled for academic supremacy, and this felt like a simple continuation of that. Melissa had fought to keep her duplicity from her sister, and now Spencer worked to figure out what she had done before Melissa told them.

"Well, that's where I get a bit hazy. I honestly, completely, and truly was in it to protect you Spencer. I wanted to keep you safe." She sighed and glanced out the dark window. "But that's not what Darren wanted. He wanted to destroy -A. Which wasn't a terrible goal. The thing is that he kept seeing -A wherever he went."

"Like on the Halloween train?" Emily interjected in a cold voice.

Spencer struggled to understand what Emily was asking until she remembered the video of Wilden in the Queen of Hearts costume. "You tried to kill Aria?"

"Darren was convinced that she was -A. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him that we couldn't hurt a teenage girl, even if we were positive. But he wouldn't listen to me. He was the one that attacked you Spencer." Melissa looked down at her with such repentance that she couldn't help but believe her. "He hurt you, and then he told me that he would kill you if I didn't help him with Aria."

She still remembered the stinging of the boot against her stomach, the large hands clamped around her throat. Knowing that it was Detective Wilden, someone that was supposed to be protecting them, made it all the worse. This wasn't okay.

Toby's hands found either side of her face. He tilted her head upward to take in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She wasn't. Not really. But she had to be, at least for now. She gave him a half-hearted smile before pulling away from his persistent hands and looking at Melissa. "Who else is working with you?"

"Cece Drake and Mona."

"Mona?" Hanna rose her eyebrows in shock.

"You didn't think that Mona really wanted to hurt you, did you Hanna? Wilden wasn't able to convince her to join fully. Not until you were hit by that car. After that she was out for blood."

Spencer flinched, remembering that moment vividly. You never truly forget the moment that you see your best friend getting struck by a vehicle.

"I-" Hanna began, obviously unsure of how to continue. And Spencer didn't blame her. It was a lot to take in.

"Mona sometimes confuses me. I'm pretty sure that she's on our side," Melissa admitted reluctantly. "But she plays the double agent role a little too well. But enough of that. Spence, I have one more thing that you need to hear."

Spencer looked back up at her sister in apprehension. What else could she possibly have to admit to?

Melissa bit her lip. "You didn't kill that girl."

"Excuse me?" Spencer's heart skipped a beat. How did Melissa even know that was an issue?

"Dad told me that he was worried that you hurt Alison. But since Alison is alive there must be someone else in the grave. It- God, it was Ian. He was partying with Jason, and he was trashed. He saw the blonde walking through the backyard, and he must have just blacked out. But the next thing he said that he remembered was holding a shovel and a bloody, dead girl laying at his feet. He must have seen the hole and buried her in it. He told me that he left some kind of note for Jason saying that he did it, just to cover his tracks." There were tears in Melissa's eyes. It wasn't something that she was used too. Her sister was the consummate picture of strength.

"If it wasn't Alison, who was it?" Hanna voiced the question that had been on all of their minds since the moment that they realized that Alison was alive for sure.

"I don't know," Melissa admitted.

"I do," Alison said suddenly, speaking for the first time in a long time.

Spencer turned to her so fast that her neck popped. "Excuse me?" She repeated for the second time.

"I-" She began, her eyes shifting toward the door like she was going to run for it.

"No more secrets, Ali," Hanna spoke with more authority than she knew that the girl possessed. Although, her tone was much more kind than Alison deserved. How many times could she have ended this? How many times could she have helped them by just providing a little bit more information?

Spencer hadn't planned on speaking, but she couldn't help herself. "You either trust us or you don't."

"It was my cousin," she blurted out. "It was my cousin, Sara."

"Sara Harvey?" Emily questioned in surprise.

It was a bit shocking, but who else could it have been? The similarities between the two girls were undeniable.

Alison nodded, looking close to tears. "Well, she's not really my cousin. Our moms were best friends, so we always called each other cousin. I invited her over that night. We were going to play a trick on you guys. She was dressed like me, and it was going to be epic. I don't remember the details now, but we were really excited for it. But first I needed to take care of my business. Drugging you four had been a last minute decision, and it put a slight damper on the prank. But I was still convinced it would work. I just needed to try to narrow down the -A suspect list first."

She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before continuing. "I assumed she just went home, but when I saw that she was missing, when I saw that she was presumed dead I guessed what had happened. But when I saw that they found my body I knew for sure. It's my fault that she's dead."

Spencer didn't say anything, because she couldn't deny it. So much of these problems could have been solved had she just been honest with them. But right now she just needed to get away from all of this and process. "I'm going to go." She hated leaving Emily and Hanna with Alison, but she just couldn't deal. Not right now.

But they both looked at her like they understood. Just acceptance shined from their tired eyes. It had been a long day for all of them.

A chorus of good nights followed as slid through the heavy front door of the barn. She paused, waiting for Toby to catch up to her. She didn't have to look back to know that he'd follow her. He wouldn't want to leave her, not when he knew that she was upset.

It only took him a second to follow her through the door. His eyes scanned the yard until they spotted her. He immediately walked toward her, wrapped a solid arm around her waist, and led her upstairs.

She was happy to let him lead, which wasn't something she said very often. But for right now she was content to go on autopilot as she tried to process the multitude of information that she had just learned. They entered her room, and he pulled her gently down onto her bed, securely holding her back against his chest. She never felt more safe or cared for than she did in this position.

How could she have ever thought that Toby was anything less than loving? How could she have ever believed him capable of murder. There was nothing but goodness in him, of that she was absolutely certain.

"Are you alright, Spencer?" His words were quiet, and his lips were gentle against her neck. The gentleness only added to the sensual feeling. Goosebumps erupted along the length of her neck. No one had ever made her feel the way that he did.

"I will be as long as you don't let me go." That's not what she was going to say, but she couldn't deny the truth behind the words. In his arms nothing could go wrong.

"I'll never leave you again, I promise. I'll be right be your side for as long as you want me."

His words made the deep sentimental part of her want to cry. No one had ever professed such an unconditional love for her before. But the rational part of her knew that a sound kiss would be better served to express her gratitude. She rolled over in his arms and did just that.

The passion that ensued when their lips met was unrivaled. Unconditional love, acceptance, joy. Those were the things that she felt when she was with Toby.

Before things could get too heated she broke away with a gasp. He looked down at her questioningly and waited for her to explain. She bit her lip, considering the intelligence behind what she was about to say. "I have an idea."

-A POV

They watched through the frosted glass, taking in facial expressions and wishing that they could hear words. A bug in the Hastings' barn was proving to be more and more necessary. From what they could see it looked like Melissa was finally spilling her guts to precious baby sister. Great, that just meant it was time to step things up.

They watched as Spencer and Toby left first. They were closely followed by the other three girls. Once everyone had ample time to separate they typed out a quick text.

_'Melissa doesn't have all the information, but someone close to you does. Consider this your hunting license. Liars are your prey of choice. Figure it out before it's too late, bitches! Sleep tight, little liars. I'm coming for you. Kisses! -A'_

**Next Chapter:**

_"Spence, are you sure this is a good idea?"_

_The logical little person inside her mind was screaming at her to tell the truth, but she couldn't listen to that part of her right now. This might not be a good idea, but it was a necessary one. "I'm sure."_

_Toby sighed and slipped his hand in hers. This is the one part of the plan that she was unsure of, but he insisted that she couldn't do this alone. "Let's do it."_


	4. Chapter 4

**I wrote 90% of this chapter and then decided lol no it works better from Toby's POV. SO here you go! Sorry it's late.**

**This chapter was unplanned. I meant to go straight to a Haleb reunion in this chapter, and then I read the synopsis of the first episode and it said they're going to try to flush out A. So I wanted to include that.**

**Next chapter is from Hanna's POV. Caleb has a brief cameo, but he's 100% back in Chapter 6!**

Chapter 4

TPOV

This was not a good idea. This was a terrible idea. But at least he had talked her in to letting it be him. She would have to walk in at the end, but at least he would be taking the brunt of it if it worked.

"Toby, are you-"

He sighed. Well, he thought that he had convinced her. But apparently it would take a little more work. He pulled her to the side, stopping her progress into the living room, and cut her words off with a soft kiss. He brushed his nose against hers. "I'm sure," he murmured, looking into her eyes. Did she not realized that he would do anything for her?

He still saw reluctance in her eyes, so he dropped down and connected their lips together again. He was perfectly content to kiss her until it disappeared.

Even in the midst of their collective panic he was struck by how beautiful she was. The slight blush of her cheeks that appeared beneath his searching fingers, the flecks of gold in her expansive brown eyes, the way her hair had streaks of red when it was hit by direct light. Even now, even two years into their relationship, he was still blown away by his luck. How could she possibly want to be with someone like him?

But she did. Somehow she did, and he would spend his whole life thanking her for that. Because God only knows where he'd be without her. She was the one her gave him the confidence the drop out of school and to escape from his poisonous family. She was the one who showed him that he was worth loving, that he wasn't the most that the rest of the world saw him as. She was the one that gave his sad life a purpose.

He pulled away from her trembling lips to take in her expression. A smirk tugged at his lips as he saw the slightly dazed look in her eyes. She effortlessly had that effect on him, but sometimes he forgot that he could do the same to her. He brushed his hand along the length of her cheek bone and peered into her eyes. "All good?"

"No," she mumbled. "But I won't fight with you. Just don't do anything stupid."

He smirked, having no intention of keeping that promise. He would do what it took to keep her safe, but he would say whatever he had to say to get her to calm down. "I promise."

She got on her tip toes to kiss him one last time before leading him into him into the living room where her friends were waiting. While the two of them were gone Aria had arrived. Spencer dropped his hand and immediately rushed over to wrap her smallest friend up into a comforting hug. "Aria, are you alright? How's Ezra?"

"He's- he's stable," her voice wavered, but she managed a smile. "His mom's there, which will be a nice shock when he wakes up. But I got your SOS, and knew I could be more useful here."

"Yeah, so what's the plan, Spence?" Hanna interjected in her usual, brash way.

Spencer released Aria and returned to his arms. He immediately wound them around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. She relaxed into his embrace. Neither of them were usually so touchy feely in public, but they were both nervous. He already knew the plan.

He felt it as Spencer took in a deep, fortifying breath. He pressed his lips to the top of her head to comfort her as she began to speak. "Remember when we tried to convince -A that Emily was on their side? It really might have worked, had things gone differently. After talking to Melissa I don't know what the hell to believe about -A, but if my sister is to be trusted that wasn't Mona. So my suggestion is that we split up. I think that Hanna and Aria should go talk to Mona and figure out what the hell she's doing."

"I don't know if I believe that Mona isn't -A." Emily sat down on the edge of the couch, and looked almost embarrassed for speaking up.

He hadn't wanted to talk, but he felt as though he needed to throw something in here. "When- when I was working with Mona-" he didn't want to talk about this, but it was all stuff that they needed to hear. "I never saw her interact with someone else. I never saw her either give orders or take them. She might have said something on the phone once, but that could have been staged... Mona could very well be a double agent. Just doing whatever works the best for her."

"No matter what the truth is, we need to figure it out," Spencer replied firmly.

Hanna bit her lip. "What are the rest of you doing?"

"Em? Can you flip that radio on?" She gestured to the controls on the counter next to her friend. "I don't want to be overheard."

Once the surprisingly loud classical music filled the Hastings' kitchen Spencer began to describe her plan in a hushed voice. "I don't like this part, but someone convinced me that this was the best way." She interlocked her fingers with one of his. Despite the stressful moment he struck by just how well they fit together. It was like they were made for each other. Like two separate pieces of a puzzle. They fit perfectly together.

Spencer bit her lips as she struggled over how to best explain her idea. "We've all been together for so long... It's only going to be believable if one of us are fighting with Alison. And Toby managed to convince me that it would be better if it were him. The two of them should arrive separately somewhere public, maybe the Brew. Then they should fight loudly and publicly. I think maybe Alison, you should try to apologize to him."

Her head tilted backward against his chest as she addressed him. "And Toby, maybe you should tell her that it's too little, too late? You'll have to be angry..."

"I can be angry," he replied simply. It wasn't as though he had forgiven Alison. He could play nice for Spencer's sake, but the girl had very nearly ruined his life. Try as he might there was still those annoying feelings of resentment, and he was pretty sure that they were nothing going to go away.

She turned halfway in his arms and gave him a look that suggested she knew exactly what he was thinking, which was fine. It was the underlying sympathy that bothered him. He didn't want her to have to feel badly for him. But before he could address it she turned away again to finish her explanation to her friends.

"Okay, and then Emily and I can walk in and reluctantly stay with Alison," her voice suggested that was the last thing that she wanted to do. "Toby can stalk off angrily that we didn't take his side. And hopefully -A will contact him. He already-" she swallowed painfully. "He already joined once. Maybe that will give him an edge."

He didn't care that her friends were there. He grasped her shoulders and turned her around in his arms. "Spencer-"

She shook her head, not letting him continue. "I'm fine, Toby. I just wish you'd let me do this. You don't need-"

This time it was his turn to cut her off. "Hey, if I didn't want to do this I wouldn't have. I know I don't have to, but I want too. You've been doing this on your own for far too long, sweetheart. Let me help you." He cupped her right cheek with a soft hand and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

She bit her lip thoughtfully and nodded. "As long as you want too and don't feel like you have too."

One day she was going to have to convince her that there wasn't a thing in the world that he wouldn't do for her. She saw him when he was still invisible. She saved him before he even realized himself that he was worth saving. He could try his whole life and he would never be able to repay her for that. "I want too," he repeated. He thought it was unnecessary, but apparently she needed to hear it again.

"I love you," she said, softly enough that only he could hear her.

He smiled and pushed a chunk of hair behind her ear. "I love you too."

* * *

"I'll have a small coffee, please," he asked softly. He always felt like an idiot buying coffee here, since he lived upstairs. But this was Spencer's plan, and he would do whatever she asked him.

He knew that Alison was already inside, and he could feel her eyes on him. God, he wished he didn't have to do this. He was angry. He was actually livid. At first the anger was spread across all five of the girls. He hated them equally, thinking that they were all like Alison. Then he became friends with Emily. He realized that she was too gentle to have been a part of what happened to him. But he continued to hate the other three until he met Spencer. Then the girl shattered all of his preconceived notions. She not only changed his life for the better, but he also helped her direct his anger toward the appropriate person.

Alison.

"Toby?"

It wasn't an act. Her voice caused his entire body to tense up. He didn't want to talk to her. Mostly he just wanted to move on with his life. Talking to Alison would just bring old wounds to the surface. "Alison," he said softly. He grabbed his coffee and turned around to face her.

She looked like she wanted to talk to him just as much as he wanted talk to her. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Why?" His voice was almost unrecognizable, even to himself. He really didn't care what Alison thought, but he didn't necessarily want Spencer to see him life this.

"I- I don't know, Toby. I guess I owe you an apology."

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but he immediately dissolved the shock from his face. "Really? Maybe that apology would have been better served when everyone was calling my a monster and a murderer. The only thing I did the night you _died _was give you a sweatshirt so you weren't cold. Or maybe it would have been better served during the year I spent in juvie, taking the blame for something you did. It's too little too late Alison."

"Toby, listen I-"

She was cut off by the arrival of Emily and Spencer, both of which looked happy to see him. Although, because he knew the two of them so well he could see their tension. "Hey!" Spencer smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist in a warm embrace.

Her arms, like usual, were enough to evaporate most of his ire. He was pretty sure that she knew that. He relaxed slightly, but he knew that he still needed to pretend. He shrugged out of her embrace, but grabbed her hand, not really wanting to be completely separated from her. "Did you know about this, Spencer?"

Her face froze. She was actually a really great actress. She glanced between Emily and Alison before grabbing his other hand and pulling him off to the side. "Listen, Toby I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

"What are you talking about? You knew? You knew that she was alive and you didn't tell me? After everything she did to me..." he trailed off. He wasn't really capable of yelling at Spencer, so he thought that was a better option.

"Toby, listen to me." She released one of his hands and used it to stroke his cheek. "Just breath, okay? I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But it wasn't safe for anyone else to know."

"Spencer! Listen to yourself," he actually meant this part. "If it wasn't safe for you to share then it definitely wasn't safe for you to keep to yourself. How am I supposed to help you if I don't even know that you're in trouble?" He repeated the words he spoke to her only a few weeks ago about her drug addiction. He really hoped he kept her promise of no more secrets, because he didn't know how they could go on if they kept keeping things like this from each other.

"I'm not going to apologize for protecting you, Toby." Her voice was firm with an underlying tone of sadness. She knew that he was upset with her, and neither of them liked it.

"I need to get out of here." He ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair. "I can't be here right now."

"No, hold on. I can come with you." She fumbled for her purse.

He looked down at her with searing eyes. He definitely wanted her to come with him, but it wasn't a part of the plan. He had to act angry with her. "No Spencer. Stay here, since Alison was apparently so important to you. You obviously have plenty to catch up on."

"Toby," she pleaded, grabbing onto his wrist.

He easily pulled his arm out of her hands and walked out the door, hating himself for even pretending to be angry with Spencer. As if he could ever be upset with the girl who had transformed his entire life. As if he could ever be angry enough with her to cause this kind of scene. Furthermore, he had promised her that he wouldn't run off on her again. Even pretending to was breaking his heart because he knew what it did to her.

As soon as he walked out the door his phone vibrated. His heart jumped in his chest. Had that actually worked? He pulled out his phone and scanned over the message.

_'Nice try, T. But you'll want to watch who you discuss your plans in front of. I've got my little spies everywhere. Kisses! -A.'_

What did that even mean?

A's POV

He walked into the building and grabbed the wrist of their intended target, pulling them off to the side. "You were going to tell, weren't you?"

"It's only a matter of time until they find out," she replied in frustration. "Don't you think it would be more fun if they think they're the ones that drew me out."

"No!" Had they recruited a bunch of idiots? God. "No, because now that I have someone so close to them in my back pocket we can keep this going indefinitely."

"And you're sure they're going to be able to do this? With no guilt?" She asked him hesitantly.

"Yes. Trust me, I know this person very well. Everything will be fine. But either way, if they find out it'll be fun to see the look on their faces. Dropping hints is almost as fun as destroying them." They turned around and walked out of the building without another word. It was time to back off for a few days. Lull them in to a false sense of security before escalating things fully. This was going to be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this is late! I was inspired for Let's Go Back to the Start and busted out a few chapters of this... This chapter might feel fillerish, but it's not. Pay attention. Anyways, yeah, read and review. Let me know what you think. Next chapter will be up when this one gets to 40 reviews. So... yes! Review, por favor!**

Chapter 5

HPOV

She knew that Spencer was right. She knew that this needed to be done and that she was the best person to do it. But she would basically rather have tea with Satan than go visit with the Mona Monster.

But at least Aria was with her. A little Haria power was enough to make this almost alright. "What do you think she's going to say?"

Aria flicked on the turn signal and maneuvered the car onto the curb in front of Mona's house. "Mona? I think she'll be shady and elusive like usual. Do you think I should come in?"

She glanced over her shoulder at the shadowy, dark street. There was no way that she was leaving Aria out here to be eaten by a flipping werewolf or kidnapped by -A. But she didn't know if Mona would respond in front of Aria. "I think you have to," she admitted reluctantly. She wasn't going to leave Aria out here alone.

Aria nodded and trailed behind Hanna as she walked up the long drive and knocked on the door. Mona answered almost immediately, her warm, inviting smile quickly transformed into an annoyed grimace as soon as she saw Aria. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk to you, Mona," Hanna said immediately. She needed to do all the talking or crazy pants was going to clam up like... like a clam. She was so poetic.

"I think I'm busy," she replied in her typical sardonic voice. Sometimes Hanna wasn't sure whether Mona was genuinely talking to her or making fun of her. Actually, she got like that with Spencer sometimes too. It was like those scary smart people all spoke a language of their own.

Although Mona was also fluent in the language of the common people, as she proved so effectively over the course of their friendship. Not that she was bitter or anything. "Cut the crap, Mona. We talked to Melissa, and this is important."

Mona's face changed at the mention of Melissa's name. "Well come on in then."

Hanna glanced back over her shoulder and shared a significant look with Aria before following Mona inside. Going into Mona's den of sin was flipping her out. It was weird. Like what was she going to do? Murder them, stuff them, and use them as her human dolls? Mona might have been her friend once, but there was no denying that she was bat shit crazy.

Once she and Aria were both settled down on the couch Hanna immediately turned to Mona. "Mona, please. We've been in the dark for too long. Tell us what's going on."

She just stared at Hanna for a long moment, her dark brown eyes looking for all the world like some kind of fathomless pit. There was probably some kind of emotion there, but Mona was a master at hiding her feelings. "I can't."

"Mona! Seriously what the hell is going on!" This was absolutely ridiculous. Why couldn't she just tell them. "Don't you see that this has gone too far? We just want to end it."

"Maybe that's not what I want," she said seriously.

"Mona!"

"No Hanna. Shut up and listen to me for a second," for the first time Mona's emotionless facade cracked into something more. "I won't let you get hurt again. I won't let it happen. But in order for me to do that you need to stop. You need to let me continue doing what I'm doing, and you need to not interfere."

Did she really think that was good enough? "My friends-"

"Your friends too. Just trust me, Hanna." Mona looked at her imploringly. "You trusted me once. Is it so hard to believe that I'm not on your side now?"

"Mona, I-"

She cut her off again. There was a lot of that going on. "Furthermore, Hanna, you need to be careful of who you trust. You tried something tonight, right? -A knew right away. There's someone that's close to you, someone that you think is on your side, that's selling you out."

"Yeah, well that's not the first time that I've had someone I care about betray me." That was low, but Mona's implication that one of her friends were working for -A was pissing her off. What the hell was wrong with her? She trusted those girls with her life. And if Spencer trusted Toby she trusted him too. She wasn't going to ask this because she was afraid of the answer, but Mona had pissed her off to the point that it was necessary. "Did you hit me with that car, Mona?"

"No," she said without hesitating. "I have no idea who did, but trust me, if I knew I would use my powers of evil for a greater purpose."

She didn't believe a lot that Mona said, but somehow she did believe that. There was something about Mona. When she gave you a straight answer you just believed her. It must have been her winning personality and soothing presence. "Okay."

"Just be careful, Hanna." Mona stood up, a clear indication that she was done with the conversation.

She rolled her eyes and walked toward the door without a second thought, knowing that Aria would follow her. Mona was literally the most infuriating person in the history of the planet. Why did she just talk in circles. Why couldn't she just give her a straight answer. Wasn't she supposed to be her friend. She threw up open Aria's passenger side door and got in, glaring out the window.

She could see Mona's black hair as they pulled away from the curb. She was literally so frustrating.

"Han? Do you think Mona was telling the truth?" Aria asked as she drove the car down the main street in Rosewood. "I can never tell with her."

Hanna held back a sigh. She loved Aria to the moon and back with a short jaunt through the stars, but she wasn't exactly helpful. She was content to go along for the ride and eat cake with Ezra while the other three were risking their lives. It was entirely too frustrating, and altogether unfair. But she wouldn't say anything. She was happy for Aria, that she could be so happy. She was glad that her friend didn't feel the burden to keep her friends safe that she felt. Or maybe she did and she just pushed past it. She didn't know. She couldn't read her mind.

"I don't think Mona's told the straight truth a day in her life. But I do believe that there's more to the story than we originally thought. And I do believe her about the car." She sighed and slumped in her seat as they pulled up to a red light. This entire day had been exhausting.

"Han, is that Caleb?"

She sat up with a start. Aria might not have spent a lot of time with Caleb, but she had spent enough with him to know what he looked like. And she knew Hanna well enough to know that she shouldn't bring it up if it wasn't him. She didn't have to search for him. Her eyes were drawn to him like a flipping magnet. She could pick him out of a crowd of 10,000, of that she was certain.

He looked good; hot, actually. He got a haircut that made him look more boy band and less sketchy, grungy hacker boy. And he clearly had visited with his mother, because he was sporting some expensive new duds. He looked hot. He also must have felt her eyes on him, because he looked up, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before she turned away.

Her heart twisted in a moderate degree of pain. Because no matter what Caleb felt for her, she would love him with everything in her for the rest of her life. That's why their break up had been so hard. That's why saying goodbye to him in Ravenswood had been next to impossible. Caleb was more than just a boyfriend to her. He was more than just someone to spend time with. She loved him. She loved him with everything that she had to offer.

But even more than that, Caleb was the one that showed her that she was worth something. He showed her that he was worth more than the girl who thought her worth was tied up in her appearance. He showed her that she was worth more than the girl who thought that the things that Alison said was true about her. That she was worth love even when she felt like everyone in the world was leaving her. He made her feel beautiful, loved and special. Caleb was so much more than a boyfriend. And she would love him until the day she died.

But that didn't answer the overarching question in her mind. What was he doing back?

**Next Chapter:**

**"Spencer-"**

**"No Caleb," she sighed in annoyance. "You need to do it yourself."**

**"But, Spence-" His pleading eyes looked up her like a lost puppy. "Please, she won't listen to me."**

**She wished that she could say yes. She really did. Because both him and Hanna looked lost without each other. But she couldn't get involved. "I'm sorry."**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I've lost my motivation for this story a bit. I will finish it, but it'll be slow. I'm just so frustrated with the whole Season 5 business. I know that PLL isn't all about the ships. I know that. But Toby is literally only in two of the first seven episodes. TWO? After we didn't get him the whole end of Season 4. So, when will the next chapter be up? When I stop being mad at the PLL writers.**

**Thanks JDurst99 for reviewing all the chapters you missed. You're the best my dear. I hope you guys enjoy this. Things are about to pick up.**

Chapter 6

SPOV

She turned her pen around in her fingers, not paying a lick of attention to whatever her Biology teacher was lecturing on. How was she supposed to worry about school right now? And in all honesty, she could figure it out later. Right now she had bigger things on her mind.

After their failed attempt at drawing -A out she didn't want to go to school. She didn't want to do anything other than lay in bed and cuddle with Toby. They had a lot of lost time to make up for. But proving, once again, that he was a perfect human being, Toby insisted on driving her to school.

_"I know you didn't want to come today, but we both know that you'll be upset with yourself later if you skip," he murmured, drawing her in for one last kiss._

_She let her lips linger on his for a moment longer than she would usually allow. She was trying to be strong, but she didn't enjoy the thought of their impending separation._

_He gently tilted her chin upward so that he could see her eyes. "Are you alright?"_

_She gave him a tight lipped smile and popped the last of the muffin that they had stopped for into her mouth so that she didn't have to lie to him. Because she really wasn't. She hated being so clingy, but she didn't want to leave him. And on top of that, she still didn't feel all that great._

_"Spence- you don't have to go if you don't want too. We're still in the car, and no one had seen you," he backtracked, running his hand through his hair._

_Her fake smile immediately transformed into a real one. He was too adorable. "No, you're right. I don't need to fall further behind than I already am."_

_He nodded and kissed her again, deepening the kiss further than was probably advisable in a high school parking lot. "I'll pick you up right here after school, okay? Do you need to go home."_

_"No," she murmured, her lips still ghosting over his own. "My parents had to go back to Boston. Some lawyer convention."_

_"Perfect. I'll pick up some takeout and we can just relax for awhile."_

_She smirked and kissed him one more time before finding the strength to pull away. "I love the sound of that. See you later."_

_He grabbed her hand and pressed one last kiss to her wrist before releasing her with a smile. "I love you."_

_"Love you too," she said softly._

The bell rang, signifying the end of yet another school day. She gathered up her Biology books and made her way out of the class.

Her head throbbed with every step that she took. It was reminiscent of the beat from some kind of tribal dance. She pictured an army of little people rain dancing across her brain. She was so stupid to take the Adderall again. So stupid. She knew how it affected her the last time. She had stopped it this time. She had stopped herself from turning into the violent psychopath from a few summers ago. But she wasn't free from the more negative physical affects of drug addiction. More than anything she just wanted to cuddle up next to Toby and watch a movie.

One day of torture at Rosewood High School was enough to make her regret not taking Toby up on his reluctant offer to skip. It was cocky to think, but she was so much more intelligent than most of her classmates. She could catch up easily and still break every curve that the school had to offer. But it was important to keep up appearances. If she skipped too much school someone would call her parents, and they couldn't be involved.

She failed at keeping Toby safe from -A, but she certainly would keep her parents out of it. -A wouldn't hurt anyone else close to her. Not if she could help it.

She reached into her locker and slowly pulled the text books she would need for that evening out and into her bag. Russian History. Latin. Biology. Nineteenth Century Literature.

She hauled the messenger back up and over her shoulder, but before she could walk away a hand wrapped around her locker door, stopping her from closing it. "Spencer? Can we talk?"

This had been something that she had been anticipating, but she hadn't expected it right at this moment. "What up, Caleb?" She sighed quietly. It wasn't so much that she had an aversion to talking to him. It's just that she really didn't feel well.

"Can we talk?" He repeated, a bit more urgently this time.

"Is it about Hanna?" She knew it was, but she wanted him to clarify before going on.

"Um- yes," he mumbled.

"I can't help you with that, Caleb," she sighed.

He opened his mouth, and she could see that he was about to protest so she cut him off. "No, Caleb. Seriously, I can't get involved. Hanna's my best friend. I have to stay out of it."

"But she won't talk to me," he protested. "How am I supposed to fix things if she won't talk to me?"

She looked at him, her heart going out to him. She could see the remorse in his eyes, but as much as she wanted to help him she just couldn't. She wouldn't betray Hanna like that. It had to be something she decided. But, she thought as she took in the sad look on his face, maybe she could help him out a little bit. "She forgave you for worse, Caleb. I know how much you love her. I'm sure that you had your reasons for leaving. Just do what you did when you were making up for the Jenna Thing. Just be persistent and remind her that you love her. She'll come around."

He nodded gratefully and turned to walk away, but she was struck with a stark reminder of Caleb's home situation. "Where are you staying?"

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted reluctantly, turning back around to face her.

She paused, being selfish for just another moment. She was really enjoying the idea of alone time with Toby tonight. But she couldn't leave Caleb homeless, even if that's what Hanna wanted. "Toby should be out in the parking lot waiting for me if you want to see if you can crash with him for awhile. But I'm sure that he wouldn't mind."

"Are-" he swallowed nervously. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose or anything."

Caleb was sweet. "We're not going to let you be homeless. Just come with me, okay?"

He nodded, so she lead him through the hallways. She prayed that they wouldn't run in to Hanna. She was confident in her decision, but she really didn't want to have to explain to her best friend why she was walking through the hallways with her ex-boyfriend. They walked together through the double doors, and she immediately caught sight of Toby's truck. Toby stood outside, leaning against his door.

And with that she couldn't bear to stay with Caleb any longer. She left him behind and walked into Toby's outstretched arms. He immediately latched onto her and clutched her to his chest. "Hi," he murmured into her hair.

"I love you," she whispered. She tucked her face into his neck.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, pushing her far enough away that he could look at her.

She leaned forward and put her head against his chest. "I am now."

Caleb coughed awkwardly from behind them. She laughed quietly, just then remembering that he was there. "Toby, I ran into Caleb, and he was wondering if he could crash on your couch for a couple nights."

"Of course, man. We were going to get some Chinese and watch a movie. Do you want to join us?"

That was one reason of about five million why she loved Toby. He was always perfectly willing to unreservedly help a friend in need. Caleb chuckled and shook his head. "Nah man. You two relax, and I'll meet up with you later."

Toby smiled and nodded. "You can stay for as long as you need to. I'll get a key made up for you tomorrow."

Caleb paused and just looked at him for a second. "Toby... thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Caleb. It's what anyone would do. And it might be nice to have a little testosterone around," Toby laughed.

"Oh please," she smacked his chest with a laugh. "When have you ever done the typical guy things?"

"That's because I only have you to hang out with." He gave her a teasing smile so that she knew he was kidding and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Caleb coughed again. "I'll take that as my cue to leave. I'll see you guys later."

Spencer reluctantly pulled away from Toby and gave him a wave goodbye. When Caleb was out of sight she turned to Toby, smiling again. "That was really nice of you, Toby."

"I don't know why everyone keeps saying that," he laughed. "I have a couch. I'm not going to leave him to sleep on a bench somewhere."

She rolled her eyes and climbed through the door that he held open for her. He definitely didn't see himself clearly. Once he was in the car she gently grabbed his hand and slowly laced their fingers together. "You're seriously the best."

He squeezed her hand and brushed his thumb across the back of it. "Shrimp friend rice?" He offered up sweetly. It was especially sweet because she knew without a shadow of doubt that he hated shrimp and rice.

"We can actually get something that you like, Toby," she laughed. "Maybe some sesame chicken too?"

"How about some cronuts?" He managed to keep his face serious, but his lips twitched giving away his amusement.

"You're never going to let me get away with that, are you?" She laughed. "You didn't try them! But they really were delicious, and about the only reason that I gain weight recently. The withdraw craved cronuts in the early stages."

He reached down and pinched her side. "If anything you've lost weight. Maybe we should go get you some more transfat and butter."

They playfully bickered about their food order as they drove through the mean streets of Rosewood. She didn't know what was to come, but what she did know that having Toby by her side was enough to give her the strength to go on. All she needed was Toby.

* * *

CPOV

Caleb walked down the tree lined road, knowing that this was probably a terrible idea. But Spencer was right. He needed to be persistent. He needed to remind Hanna of how much he loved her.

He slowly walked up the driveway praying that Mrs. Marin didn't answer the door. Before he went to Ravenswood he finally felt like she was truly warming up to him, but if she saw him he was pretty sure that she might scratch his eyes out. He had never met someone that was more protective of their child. Hanna was lucky in that way.

He knocked gently on the door, not wanting to give off any hostility. He wanted to come across as kind and repentant. He handled this entire situation poorly. How could he have ever thought that staying in Ravenswood was a good idea? He left Hanna alone. He left her alone in Rosewood with a stalker after her. God, what was he thinking? He wanted to help Miranda, he wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery, but Hanna was so much more important than any of that. She was more important than anything. And he left her. He left her alone and defenseless. Worst idea ever.

"Caleb?"

He blinked a few times, his eyes falling on Hanna's confused face. "Han, can we please talk?"

"I don't think so," she said softly. He could see the pain on her face and it killed him. It really and truly killed him.

He chewed on his bottom lip trying to decide what to do. There was persistence and then there was annoyance. "Hanna, I'll leave, but I need you to listen to me first. I need you to listen to me and to hear me."

He waited until she made reluctant eye contact with him before continuing. "I love you, Hanna Marin. I've loved you every day since we went camping that one day two years ago. I love you, and I never stopped. I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm so, so sorry. But I think you got a sense of why I did it when you visited me in Ravenswood. I- I had some trouble. And don't try to deny it Hanna. If you thought that I was in trouble you would have dropped everything to come help me, and I couldn't have that. I couldn't put you in danger. But that's over now. I'm back, and I won't rest until I've won you back. I don't think you understand what you mean to me, Han. Before I met you I was completely alone in the world. No one cared if I lived or died. No one cared about me. But you did. You showed me that I was worth something, and I'll never be able to repay you for that. I love you, and I'll wait for you forever."

His eyes just looked into her clear blue ones for a moment before turning around and walking away. He wouldn't bother her. He would be persistent, but not to the point that she was ready to kill him. And honestly, it didn't matter what she decided, because he knew that he was in love with her. He knew that would never change.

**Next Chapter:**

_**"Spencer? This is Eddie."**_

_**She yawned and thought about any Eddies that she might have known. "I'm sorry?"**_

_**"Eddie Lamb? From Radley. I- I need to talk to you. Immediately. Can you come here?"**_

_**Was he kidding? "To Radley? Right now?"**_

_**"It's an emergency, Spencer. I think I might have found what really happened to your Toby's mom."**_

_**Her heart ached and her eyes swiveled down to look at Toby laying next to her. She brushed her fingers over his cheek. He was going to kill her, but there was no way that she was going to wake him up. He might have signed a gag order, but she certainly hadn't. She would get to the bottom of this for him. "I'll be right there."**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Spencer and the Hardy Boys were my favorite part of Season 4. So yeah, I sincerely hope they include them a lot in Season 5!**

**You can thank my favorite trio for you getting this chapter when you do, because I was inspired. :). I'm still trying to base a lot of this off of what we know about Season 5 so far, so yeah. Obviously this is way more Spoby than we're going to get (see last author's note for reference) but you know, creative liberties and all that.**

**Anyways happy reading! I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, but what I can promise is that it'll be faster if I get a decent amount of reviews!**

Chapter 7

SPOV

Toby pointed the remote at the TV and clicked it off as the ending credits scrolled down the screen. Without saying a word he turned his face and nuzzled his nose into her neck. She giggled and squirmed away from him. "Are you ready for bed?"

He nodded, and just to emphasize his response he let out a loud yawn. He stood up and, always the gentleman, he reached out to help her up. But before they could reach the bedroom a soft knock came from the front door. She groaned and leaned into Toby's side. "If that's not Caleb I fully expect you to send them away. No being adorable and polite."

She was only half kidding, because she was practically falling asleep on her feet, and she didn't want to go to bed without Toby there. He always kept the nightmares away.

He shot her a half smile and released her, only keeping a hold of her hand. He pulled open the door and laughed when he saw who was on the other side. "Thank God it's you, because I think Spencer might have scratched anyone else's eyes out."

Caleb chuckled and slid through the door. "I'm just glad you guys hadn't gone to bed yet. I was worried I'd have to curl up against your door."

Spencer shuddered as her hysterical figure against pressed Toby's door passed through her mind, but she pushed down the overwhelming emotion. Not right now. Not when they had other things to deal with.

Toby looked at her questioningly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah Spence, you look a little green," Caleb teased.

She rolled her eyes and tugged on Toby's hand, leading him toward the bedroom. "Enough of the Hardy Boys act. I'm tired."

Toby's gaze lingered on her face for a second before nodded and turning back to Caleb. "There are blankets and pillows in the closet and towels in the bathroom closet. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want."

"Thanks again, man. I really appreciate this." Caleb's gratitude was dripping from every word that he said, and even through he exhaustion Spencer had to smile. A Toby and Caleb bromance was probably her favorite thing in the world.

Toby responded, but she wasn't listening anymore. She felt as his arm wrapped around her waist, and he led her the rest into the bedroom. His hands guided her onto the soft mattress before walking around to the other side and pulling her into his arms. "Seriously, Spence. Are you alright?"

She certainly wasn't going to tell him what upset her before. He felt enough needless guilt over his brief jaunt with the -A team. There was no need to exacerbate that. "I'm just tired."

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He pulled away and studied her eyes as though he was hoping to pull some kind of answers out of them. "You don't have to tell me, just promise you'll tell me if it's dangerous or if I can do something to help."

"I promise," she murmured sleepily.

He nodded in satisfaction and reached across her to turn the light out. He put a hand on the back of her head and drew her face onto his chest. "Spence, have you seen Alison?"

"Mmmm," she murmured, making sure her voice worked properly before trying to explain. "No. She went to her family's cabin with her dad after hearing about her mom." She shuddered again at the thought of them pulling Mrs. DiLaurentis out of the ground. She wasn't very fond of the woman, but she didn't deserve that. "They still aren't sure what they're going to do."

She felt Toby nod as he tightened his grip on her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," she yawned, closing her eyes. If he said anything else she didn't know because she was soon dead to the world.

* * *

She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. It was still dark. Why had she woken up?

Her question was answered suddenly by the quiet ringing of her phone. She snatched it off of the table and answered it before the ringing could wake Toby up. He always had a difficult time falling back asleep after being woken up, and she didn't want to be the cause of that. She should have turned it on silent.

"Hello?" She murmured in a hushed voice.

_"Spencer? This is Eddie."_

She yawned and thought about any Eddies that she might have known. "I'm sorry?"

_"Eddie Lamb? From Radley. I- I need to talk to you. Immediately. Can you come here?"_

Was he kidding? He wanted her to come to a mental hospital at 3 am? That sounded like the set up to the worst kind of horror movie. "To Radley? Right now?"

_"It's an emergency, Spencer. I think I might have found what really happened to your Toby's mom."_

Her heart ached and her eyes swiveled down to look at Toby laying next to her. She brushed her fingers over his cheek. He was going to kill her, but there was no way that she was going to wake him up. He might have signed a gag order, but she certainly hadn't. She would get to the bottom of this for him. "I'll be right there."

She snapped the phone shut and gently wriggled her way out of Toby's heavy arms. He always held her so tightly, and usually she didn't mind. It made her feel safe like nothing else could. She knew that Toby would always protect her. But right now, when her primary goal was to escape without waking him up, they were an inconvenience.

Once she managed to untangle herself from his arms she bent over and kissed his forehead in apology. She didn't want to leave him, and she knew that he wouldn't appreciate it. But she didn't want him to put himself in danger, but even more than that, she couldn't let him violate the contract that he signed. She gave him one last lingering stare before silently slipping through the door and into the living room.

Toby drove her here, so she was going to have to take his truck. She blindly felt along the counter for his keys. They clattered to the floor in a crash that probably wasn't that loud, but because the house was silent it sounded like something akin to a band full of cymbals colliding together. "Shit," she hissed and ducked down, grabbing the keys from the floor.

"Spencer?" Caleb yawned from the couch. "Are you alright?"

Shit, she forgot about Caleb. "I'm fine, sorry for waking you up."

His eyes zeroed in on her face. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to run home for something really quickly," she lied. She wanted to take Caleb even less. As much as Hanna denied it, she was still in love with him. She couldn't put her best friend's soon to be boyfriend again at risk.

"You're lying," he said immediately. She should have realized that lying to Caleb would be difficult. He grew up in foster care, in the worst kind of situations. Obviously he had the skills necessary to know when he was being lied to.

She shrugged and walked to the door. She didn't owe him any explanation. Caleb pulled himself up from the couch and grabbed her wrist. "Listen, Spencer. I don't care what you're doing. Just let me come with you."

"Why?" She was genuinely confused. Her and Caleb were friends, but not on the same level as she was with the girls or even the same level that Toby and Caleb were on.

"Because I like you, and I don't want to see you get hurt. And honestly, Toby's done a lot for me. I'd be pretty upset with myself if I let you walk out of here alone and something happened."

She rolled her eyes. Not because she was annoyed per se. Mostly because she hated it when she was wrong. Taking Caleb wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "Fine." She pulled her arm out of his slackened grasp and walked out the door.

The coolness of the night was about the only thing she really noticed as she hurried down the stairs and to Toby's truck. She opened the door and poised the key in the ignition, hesitating slightly. If the loud roar of the ancient truck woke him up she'd be so pissed. She should have bought him a car.

She waited until Caleb was inside and buckled before clenching her teeth and turning the key in the ignition. The sound was like a wave crashing over the silent night. But she didn't wait around to see if it woke anyone up. She eased her foot onto the gas peddle and set off toward Radley.

To his credit, Caleb was a really great sport. He didn't ask questions, he didn't fiddle with the radio, and he didn't complain when she rolled the windows down. He just sat in his seat and occasionally looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't blame him, really. She was acting like a crazy person.

But Caleb's silence was broken as they pulled up in front of the ominous brick hospital. "Are you kidding? Spencer, what are we doing here?"

"I got a phone call from one of my nurses while I was here. He said he found out what happened to Toby's mom." She unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the truck. A more thorough explanation could wait for later.

Caleb caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder to slow her down. "Why didn't you wake up Toby? He'd probably want to know about his mom."

"Because my manipulative father convinced him to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He can't talk about what happened to his mom with anyone at Radley. Even if Eddie really is on our side this would be a violation of that agreement. He's not going to get into legal trouble for this. I'll figure out what's going on and tell him."

Caleb pursed his lips together, but didn't say anything. He nodded and walked next to her up the steps. "How are we getting in there?"

"We're going to break in," she said, enjoying the shock on his face. For some reason people always assumed that she was some kind of saint just because she was intelligent. It was laughable. The things she had done would surprise them.

She walked along the edge of the building until she reached the back entrance. She quickly punched in the override codes that Mona had given her before sliding into the darkness. Once Caleb joined her she began to explain her plan to him in a hushed voice. "He didn't tell me where to meet him, but I know he only worked with patients on the third floor. Maybe we should look for him up there?"

Caleb nodded. "That sounds a good a plan as any. Lead the way, oh Radley expert."

She supposed something good came out of her short stay here. Radley was so central in so many of their problems. It was good to have someone that was familiar with the place. She walked up the stairs and through the hallways as quickly as she could while still remaining silent. The halls wound around the central nurses station, and it was imperative that they didn't alert anyone else to their presence.

Just as she was about to suggest that they double back she heard Eddie's voice. Caleb grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows. Because Eddie and his companion were by the window all they could see two vague silhouettes. Caleb looked at her questioningly, but she shook her head. She had no idea who the other person was, other than that they were clearly male. She might have known them, but she couldn't tell based on an outline.

"I'm sorry. Seriously, I'm sorry. I won't tell them anything!"

Was he talking about them? She watched as the other figure took a few steps forward, shoving Eddie toward the nearby staircase.

"Please, I'll keep your secret. They don't have to know that you know! That you covered it up! Just leave me alone."

Before she realized what was happened, before she could even think to stop it, the unknown figure shoved Eddie hard. He stumbled and tried to catch himself on the railing, but he wasn't able to steady himself. Spencer watched in horror as he tumbled over the metal railing, and winced as she heard his body hit the ground.

She propelled off the wall to go help, but Caleb wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her deeper into the shadows. When she struggled he covered her mouth with one of his hands. "We need to get out of here Spencer."

She shook her head, still struggling to get away. "Seriously. How are we going to explain this? Because we can't. We **have **to get out of here. This place is crawling with people, and that wasn't quiet. A nurse will be by any second."

As much as she hated to admit it he was right. She nodded dejectedly, and as soon as Caleb felt her relax he released her. She grabbed his hand and led him in the opposite direction of the nurse's station, because she could already he the slapping of footsteps as they hurried their direction.

It took them longer, but she managed to get them out of there before they got caught. They both jumped into the truck, and Spencer drove them a ways down the road before pulling off to the side to calm her trembling body. "What the hell was that? What just happened?"

"It looks like someone didn't want you to know whatever it was that Eddie had to tell you."

She turned to him with desperate eyes, but before she could her phone vibrated. Assuming it was Toby, panicked because he couldn't find them, she pulled out her phone and checked the message.

Her heart sank when she realized that it was from an unknown number. "A message from the devil," she said softly, still too shaken up to muster up a sarcastic tone. Her eyes skimmed the message, and she could feel the blood leaving her face.

"Spence?" Caleb asked her in concern. "What does it say?"

"He knew too much. Kisses -A." She closed her eyes, trying to think of where she had heard that before. Before she got too lost in her thoughts her phone vibrated again, and she winced as she checked the number. "This time it's Toby."

Caleb gave her as genuine a half smile as he could manage. "Better answer it and face the music."

She sighed and connected the call, trying to think of how she'd possibly explain this to him.

**Next Chapter:**

_H_e _rolled over, reaching for Spencer. These kind of nights were his favorites. When he could curl up next to his girlfriend and know without a shadow of a doubt that she was safe. But his hands were met by air._

_He blinked his eyes open, and sat up when he saw that Spencer was no where to be found. Why was she always gone?_


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is pretty illuminating if you read between the lines. Next chapter will be more so! From mostly Spencer's POV, but a little of Hanna's.**

**This is brief because I'm falling asleep, lol! Review because it always makes me write faster :)**

Chapter 8

TPOV

He never remembered his dreams. Details always slipped through his fingers just after waking. Shapes, figures... they danced through his mind. He could usually tell if he was happy or sad, but he could never remember the details.

But to be honest, he couldn't imagine a happy dream without Spencer in it. Before he met her his life was just... dark. It was dark. He smiled sleepily. He was lucky. Not everyone was able to escape from their darkness. Some people were consumed by it. But Spencer came into his life and lit his world up like when the moon appeared from behind the clouds on an overcast night. You think that you're never going to be able to see until you are.

It wasn't to say that his life didn't still contain its fair share of darkness. Peace and happiness were hard to come by when your girlfriend, the love of your entire life, was constantly being stalked by some sadistic, faceless figure. If it were him he could deal with it. Life went on. But he couldn't sit back and allow Spencer to be hurt. Not after everything that she had done for him.

He rolled over, reaching for Spencer. These kind of nights were his favorites. When he could curl up next to his girlfriend and know without a shadow of a doubt that she was safe. But his hands were met by air.

He blinked his eyes open, and sat up when he saw that Spencer was no where to be found. Why was she always gone?

Toby quickly rolled out of bed and pulled on his socks and shoes, not bothering to dig for a shirt. Where was she? Had someone taken her? Certainly she would have woken him up if she were leaving willingly, wouldn't she? But how could someone have taken her without, at least, waking him up? There were too many variables, too many unknowns.

"Caleb?" He tried to keep his voice low; he didn't want to frighten him. But even as he spoke he knew that he was failing. His voice was saturated with a consuming panic. Where was she? "Caleb, can you wake up for a second?"

He looked down at the couch, his face paling further when he saw that Caleb was gone too. What the hell was going on? He shook his shock off and barreled through the front door, relaxing slightly when he saw that his truck was gone. Did that mean that they left on their own? At least Caleb was with her. Unless he left to see Hanna...

He walked back into his house, grabbed his cell phone and dialed Spencer's number. When she didn't answer he took it outside with him. He sat on the steps, his eyes trained the road. He was content to just sit there and dial redial until she answered. He didn't notice the biting cold stinging against his bare chest. He didn't notice the dew that he parked his butt in. She told him once that he couldn't run off. Not anymore. Not after what she saw in the woods in the midst of Mona's sadistic little game. But what about what **he** thought? He might have never found Spencer's faux-dead body, but he was perfectly aware of what -A was capable of.

All he could think about was Spencer's body spread out in a ditch or tied up in a dark room. What if she was hurt? What was she thinking? What could have possessed her to leave without him?

_"Hello?"_

He hadn't noticed as one of his frantic calls connected, but her panic and pain saturated voice had his immediate attention. "Spencer? Are you alright? Where are you?"

_"I'm sorry."_

Her dull voice automatically set him on edge. Whatever happened it wasn't good. "Where are you? Don't move. I'll take my bike." He rushed back into the house and grabbed his keys.

_"In the gas station parking lot on Maple,"_ she said softly.

"Okay," he said breathlessly as he took the stairs two at a time in his hurry to get to her. "Okay. Is Caleb with you?"

_"Yes. But Toby we can come back. You don't have-"_

"I'm already on my bike, Spencer. Don't finish that sentence." He turned the key so that the engine roared to life as though to emphasize his point. "Please don't move, sweetheart."

_"Okay. I'm sorry."_

Spencer never apologized so directly. It was usually with remorseful eyes and loving actions. It was doing nothing to deflate his growing panic. "Shhh," he murmured. "We'll talk about it when I get there. Don't move. I'll be there in five minutes." He hung up the phone, knowing that driving with the phone pressed to his ear was an idiotic move. But it nearly killed him to cut off Spencer's distressed voice.

Four more minutes, he thought to himself as he increased his pressure on the gas. What were the chances of a cop being out this late? He eyed the speedometer as it incrementally raced past the speed limit. But it was fine. Spencer was far more important than a trivial speeding ticket.

He swerved into the parking lot and only paused long enough to yank his key out of the motorcycle's ignition before striding over to his truck and knocking impatiently on the driver's side window.

Remorse immediately settled in his gut as he watched Spencer jump violently. She immediately relaxed and unlocked the door when she saw that it was him, but that didn't lessen his guilt. "I'm sorry," he murmured as he climbed into the truck. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She scooted closer to Caleb to give him more room, but he didn't let her get that far before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her small frame into his chest. She was safe. She was okay. It wasn't much, and it might not be true for long, but it was alright for now. "What happened, Spence?"

"I have to interrupt, Toby, why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Caleb chucked.

He looked down at his bare chest and laughed as much as he could manage considering the circumstances. "I guess I didn't realize that I hadn't put one on. Waking up alone when you went to bed with two other people in the house is a little anxiety attack inducing."

"I'm sorry," Spencer murmured again, her face pressed into his bare chest. The feeling of her warm breath against his skin was nice, although it did nothing to lessen his concern.

"Spencer, please. You don't have to apologize. You're alright and that's all that matters. Just tell me what happened." He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her in more tightly. Maybe if he held her close enough she would absorb some of his feelings of forgiveness.

She shook her head, obviously too tired and emotional to explain it to him. "I love you," he murmured in her ear, knowing that she might need reminding. He knew how it felt to think that you disappointed the person that you loved the most. It sucked. But she forgave him, and no matter what she did he would forgive her as well. He couldn't imagine a circumstance that he wouldn't forgive Spencer for in the end. That's what happened when you loved somebody.

He pressed his lips to the top of her head and looked at Caleb. He hesitated and nodded. "Spencer got a phone call from some dude named Eddie Lamb."

Toby snapped his eyes shut. Nothing to do with that man was ever good. He connected every single one of the worst moments in Toby's life. His mother's death to Spencer's brief stay in Radley to Mona Vanderwaal's psychotic ass to Spencer discovering his apparent betrayal. Eddie Lamb was involved in every one of Toby's worst moments. And now he apparently did something to upset Spencer. "What the hell did he do?"

Caleb shrugged out of his jacket and passed it to Toby over Spencer's head. He nodded gratefully and took it into his hands. "I um-" Caleb began awkwardly, "Um, I think that he's dead, actually."

The shock that he felt was like a physical, electric jolt. And Spencer was there for it? Caleb was there for it? Oh God. "What happened?" He whispered into Spencer's hair.

He felt Spencer take in a shuddering breath. She sniffled once before pulling away to look at him. "I- I got a call from Eddie asking me to come to Radley because-" she winced, indicating that this was going to be the part that he didn't like. "Because he found some stuff out about your mom."

She looked at him, waiting for an answer. He opened and shut his mouth a few times having no idea how to respond to her. "You should have woken me up."

"That's the only part I'm _**not** _upset about, Toby." Her voice gained a bit of strength. "I wasn't about to let you break your gag order. It's one thing to talk to Caleb and I about it, but it's a completely different thing to go traipsing through Radley saying you still think they're lying."

He profoundly disagreed with her, but he wanted answers more than he wanted to be right. "And then what happened?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, like she was trying to block out the memory of what happened. "-A killed him."

"How do you know it was -A?" He didn't doubt that it was. Spencer had an uncanny ability to know what was going on before it even seemed possible. She could connect the dots and see the bigger picture before anyone else could. But he didn't know how she could possibly know.

"They were a shapeless blob, which makes me think they were wearing something too big for them, a la a black hoodie. They didn't speak once we got there, making it seem like they didn't want their voice to be overheard. Also, I think that Eddie was telling him that he would tell us anything. He kept saying he wouldn't tell them anything and apologizing. How many people could he have been sharing secrets with in one night? And who would care if we knew this kind of information other than -A? I don't know if they knew we were there... but if it was A I'm sure that they did." She trailed off at the end, shivering slightly.

Toby released her and pulled on the jacket that Caleb had passed him as quickly as he could. Once his arms were in the sleeves he pulled Spencer back to him. "They didn't see you?" If they were able to stay hidden everything was fine. But if someone knew they broke into Radley, if -A knew they were there, things would only escalate.

Spencer shrugged so he looked to Caleb. "I don't know, man. This one was going to go charging into the mess, but I held her back. I don't think anyone saw us, but like she said, -A seems to see everything."

"Rude," she murmured. "I just wanted to see if we could save him."

"I'm glad you were there," he said to Caleb before looking back down at Spencer. "Next time wake me up. I don't care what kind of trouble it may get me in. Don't stumble into the lion's den without me, Spencer."

"I can take care of myself," she sounded frustrated, but she was too tired for it to hold any weight.

"I'm not disputing that," he chuckled humorlessly. "But you tend to charge into a situation without any regard for yourself, and that's what scares me, baby. You don't want to hear this, but you're really small. If -A is a man he could easily overpower you. I don't say that to be offensive, and I don't say that to be mean at all. I say that because it's the truth. Let me help you."

She sighed and nodded. "As long as you don't needlessly put yourself at risk."

The two of them had a very different idea of what needless was. He would stick to his own idea, because as long as Spencer was alright in the end there was nothing that he could do that would be considered needless. "Alright."

"Great, now can we go to bed?" Caleb whined. "I'm about to fall asleep."

Toby nodded in perfect agreement. "Let me go get my bike and then we can get out of here."

He kissed Spencer's forehead and pulled away, walking outside. He grabbed his bike and brushed the dust off. The scratch on the body was worth it. Spencer was fine, but she might not have been. She could have been hurt.

But she was okay for now, and that was enough. He peered into the back window at her hair, his heart aching with love for her. He would keep her safe. He had to.

Hanna POV

"Jesus Christ, I'm coming!"

She rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes and glanced in her mom's room on the way down. She had to bite down on her lip to stop from laughing as walked down the hallway. Her mom wasn't home yet, and that meant she stayed overnight with Pastor Ted. What a slut.

She cringed as the incessant ringing of the doorbell began again. Who the hell was trying to wake her up at 5 am? She pulled the door open and was confused to see no one there. "What the hell?" She muttered. She would kick some 12 year old ding dong ditch playing ass.

Her eye was caught by a white envelope stuck in the screen door. She pulled it out and brushed her fingers over her name painted in red across the face of the envelope. Was this -A?

She slit her nail through the envelope and pulled out the note and a picture.

**'Oh Hanna. Meet me behind the Brew at 9 pm tonight or I'll destroy Caleb. Don't believe me? Check out the attached picture. Come alone or else. PS... Did you hear about what happened at Radley tonight? Turn on the news, bitch! Kisses! -A.'**

She pulled out the picture and was confused to see Caleb walking into what she recognized as the employee entrance to Radley. What was he doing there? The note said that she should check out the news, so she flipped on the TV and skipped to channel three.

_"In breaking news this morning an orderly was killed at Radley Sanitarium. There are no suspects at this time, but the police are investigating."_

Oh shit.

? POV

She woke up to the ringing of her cell phone. If it were her friends she probably would have waited until morning, but it was her ringtone for -A. She slid the phone out of the drawer and wearily pulled it to her face.

_'Hanna will be at the Brew at 9 pm. It's time to bring that bitch down. Take care of it or else."_

This could actually be fun.

**Next Chapter:**

_She glanced down at the picture on her phone. Damn it, she should have known better than to have brought Caleb with her. -A always had a tendency to take down the people closest to them. "I think we need to talk to my mom."_


	9. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT. I've never had an eating disorder before, but the Hanna portion of this chapter might be triggering for someone who has. I just feel like I should warn you.**

**So, I also need to warn you again that updates to this story will be infrequent. I'm not really in the mood to write season 5 anymore. Not after all the spoilers that we've gotten. It sounds like a whole lot of Alison and a very little bit about the characters that I actually care about. But I can assure you that I will keep writing this as a way to voice all of my theories. Next chapter the excitement really starts to kick back in :)**

**I can also tell you that I won't update a new chapter before the last chapter gets 5 reviews. I know that sounds petty, but I work hard on these chapters! Let me know what you think, alright?**

**I threw in a quote from The Fault in Our Stars in here. If you can point it out you get a shout out in the next chapter.**

**FINALLY, shout out to caitycaites who helped me organize my very jumbled ideas for this story and helped me figure out an idea for my next story once I finish Let's Go Back to the Start. You're the best :).**

**I'm excited for my theories to unfold for you guys! As always, review and let me know what you think! **

Chapter 9

SPOV

She awoke the next morning with Toby's arm heavy around her waist. Last night was terrifying. There was really no other word for it. After everything that she had been through, after all of the horrific things that she had experienced, this is what scared her the most. She was still afraid, but there was nothing that helped her feel secure like Toby.

He was angry with her, and she knew it. But she couldn't bring herself to regret her actions last night. Sure, it ended in disaster, but had it worked Toby might have had the answers he's been desperate for since -A began to taunt him. There wasn't a thing in the world she wouldn't do for him. The horror of the past twelve hours was completely worth it because of what it might have accomplished.

The first thing that she noticed was that it was storming outside. The cool, rain saturated air blew into the opened window and caused a slew of goosebumps to pop up on the skin that wasn't flush against Toby's. She watched through the small bedroom window as a jagged bolt of lightning joined two ominous clouds together. She counted to two in her mind before a loud peel of thunder exploded into the silence of the early morning air. She wriggled back and pressed her spine against his solid chest. He was so secure, so comforting. He must have felt her move closer in his sleep, because he wrapped his arms more securely around her waist.

She was lucky his grip wasn't this tight on her last night, because there was no way she was getting out of his arms without waking him up. Which was probably the point. She laughed softly at the realization. He wasn't going to let her ditch him again. And she didn't blame him. If he had ran off on her last night she would have certainly been reacting the same way. But if he didn't let her go soon her bladder was going to explode. His clean white sheets would absolutely not have been bettered by a little splash of yellow.

She rolled over and pressed a kiss to his mouth, not relenting until she felt him respond. She couldn't help but laugh into his mouth. There could not possibly be a better way in the world than to wake up with her limbs tangled up in Toby's. This was all that she wanted in life.

Exhaustion still cloaked her movements, but that didn't matter. She couldn't focus on sleep. She couldn't focus on anything other than Toby's lips slowly and carefully moving with hers. He was always so passionate, so gentle. He showed her that he loved her with every movement that he made. She never doubted his love for her because he didn't just say it, he lived it.

"Was there a reason for this wonderful wake up call?" He chuckled tiredly.

"Yes," she murmured, leaning up to kissing him again. "But I can't seem to remember it any longer."

She tried to deepen the kiss, but she was distracted by the inopportune pulsing of her bladder. Crap. "I seem to have remembered."

His hand slid from her cheek to her shoulder and looked at her questioningly.

"I have to use the urination station," she said as she wriggled her way out of his arms and off the bed. She paused to look out the window, the rain pounding onto the pavement. The drops bounced off of the pavement and into quickly deepening puddles along the curve. Apparently the heavens had opened up in the time that they had been back.

He chuckled. "The urination station?"

"Just something that I heard Hanna say once," she turned back to him and laughed. She just looked at his tired, smiling face for a moment before sliding out the door. She could hear his chuckles as she walked through the living room and into the restroom. There was something so rustically beautiful about Toby's restroom. It almost looked unfinished with it's exposed pipes and weathered wood, but that was part of its charm.

But as she walked out of the bathroom and back into the living room such trivial thoughts were far from her mind. A loud and frantic knocking sounded from Toby's exterior door. The sudden noise caused Caleb to mutter incoherently and roll over in his sleep; the fact that the dull thuds didn't wake him up was quite impressive, because she was pretty sure that they'd be waking the dead at this point.

"Spencer, hold on."

She sighed in exasperation. Apparently last night brought about the return of grossly overprotective Toby. "Toby-"

"Don't," he said seriously. "Get back."

She just looked at him for a second. When she saw just how serious he was she nodded reluctantly and stepped behind him. There was literally no chance that -A was knocking on his door, but if it made him feel better to protect her then she was fine with it. And honestly, she found the caveman act to be incredibly attractive.

Toby reached behind her and put a hand on her stomach to keep her back and pulled open the door. She wrapped her fingers around her wrist. She didn't care who was at the door, he wasn't going to do anything without her. She was sure that he could feel her fingers trembling, but she didn't care.

"Have you guys seen Caleb?"

Toby sighed and let her go as soon as he saw that it was Hanna. "He's right here."

Spencer stepped aside and took in Hanna's appearance. She looked akin to a drowned rat. "Han, what the hell? Did you walk here?"

"Yes," she waved her hand dismissively at Spencer. "but that's not important." She pushed past the confused pair and smacked Caleb in the face with a spare pillow. "Wake up, idiot!" Her words were harsh, but her soft smile lit up her entire face.

Spencer gave it two weeks before they were a couple again.

"What the hell!?" Caleb sat up with a start, scarcely able to stop himself from rolling off of the couch. "Hanna?" His eyes traveled from Spencer to Toby to back to Hanna again. "Um, is this a dream?"

"No, jackass," she snapped at him. This time her frustration was palpable. "What the hell were you doing at Radley last night?"

At the word Radley it felt like her stomach was being rung out like a dish towel. Apparently the nightmare wasn't over yet. Caleb gaped at her like she would know what to say, and she felt Toby's arm tighten around her. She couldn't look up at him, because she was sure the supportive look on his face would dissolve her into a mess of tears. "Why are you asking this, Han?"

"Because I've been looking around all flipping day for Caleb before it dawned on me that this bromance might have rekindled upon his ill-timed return," she snapped, gesturing wildly between Toby and Caleb. "I got a letter from the devil this morning," she explained to their confused faces.

"All day?" Spencer had other questions, but this was the easiest to answer. "What time is it?"

"7 pm, why?" Hanna glanced at them all before snickering without a whole lot of humor behind it. "Wait, did you guys just wake up?"

Spencer balked, immediately thrusting her hand into her pocket for her cell phone. When the bright screen revealed the truth behind Hanna's statement Spencer chewed on her lip, trying to push down the guilt she felt from sleeping the day away. They had been out much too late the previous night, and she supposed that it was too much to hope that she would wake up at her normal time. The storm must have masked the true position of the sun, because usually the warmth on her face would have woken her up.

"We- had a long night," Caleb muttered, brushing his hand through his hair. "Listen Hanna, seriously why are you hear? What do you know about Radley?"

Hanna's eyes were desperate and her tone took on a higher tenor than she was used to. "I told you. I got woken up at the ass crack of dawn with a note from the flipping devil him slash herself. I checked this entire flipping town for you; everywhere from Lucas' top bunk and your favorite bench at the bush station. Nothing until now!"

"But why were you looking for me?" Caleb sighed dejectedly. "You made yourself pretty clear yesterday."

Spencer rolled her eyes. Wrong thing to say, friend.

"Because I got this picture, damn it! You guys aren't listening! Why the hell were you at Radley last night, Caleb?!" She flung the picture in his direction.

Caleb paled and immediately passed the picture to Spencer. She took in Caleb's lone figure outside the heavy, metal, back door of Radley. Damn it. **Damn it. **This was what she was worried about. She knew that allowing Caleb to go would end up in disaster. She knew this would happen. Furthermore, whoever pushed Eddie must have known that they were there. Because this picture was no coincidence. It was timed too perfectly. Caleb entered the building moments after she did. They had to have been watching. _**Damn it. ** _"Caleb, I'm so sorry."

He looked back at her, confusion distorting his face for just a moment before it transformed into understanding. "This is _not _your fault, Spencer."

"But you wouldn't have been there-"

"If I hadn't wanted to be," he cut her off. "Maybe this isn't a bad thing. Maybe whoever gave this to Hanna will keep it to themselves."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

Spencer was going to explain, but Toby grabbed her upper arm and pulled to the chair on the other side of the room. He sat in his squashy arm chair and pulled her into his lap. "Give them a minute."

She looked over at Hanna and Caleb and saw them talking to each other, which was cute. They belonged together, and hopefully they would work things out. "Alright," she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

His hand automatically rose to her hair, gently brushing through it. "Are you alright?"

"I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up," she muttered sarcastically.

"Seriously, Spencer," he sighed.

"No," she murmured, deciding to try the truth. "This is all my fault."

"No Spence, it's not. For someone so logical you're always quick to take the blame for something that you didn't do. This is _-A's _fault." He pressed his lips to the top of her head in the only motion that could comfort her.

But she couldn't respond to that. She disagreed, and it wasn't worth fighting over. Another peel of thunder crashing through their silence, causing Spencer to jump. Toby chuckled and tightened his grip on her. "Afraid of the thunder?"

"Shut up," she laughed. "It's the unexpected noise that gets to me!"

Toby smiled, but before he could answer he was interrupted by Hanna. "Spence, do you have any ideas."

She blushed when she realized their very intimate position in a crowded room. This was awkward. She wriggled, trying to pull herself out of his lap, but Toby locked his hands together around her waist. She shot him a questioning gaze, and he just simply shook his head no. She just looked into his eyes for a moment before nodding silently and turning back to Hanna. "I-" she began, but she was immediately cut off by the buzzing of her phone.

She checked the message and frowned.

_'We all know that I love a nice game of cat and mouse, but I'm not an idiot. But a game of cat and mouse doesn't last for long if the cat is an idiot. Kisses -A."_

"What the hell does that mean?" Toby asked, having obviously read the text over her shoulder.

"What does what mean?" Hanna reached for the phone, and Spencer gladly handed it over to her. This was almost too much to deal with.

She chewed on her lip as Hanna and Caleb read the text. She grabbed the picture off of the table between the chair and the couch and looked carefully at it. How did they know that they'd be there. But either way, this looked terrible. They needed help. "I think we should call my mom."

"Do you think that Mama Hastings will help?" Hanna asked hopefully. She seemed to have realized how eager she was to help Caleb. She gave him a side eyed glance and decidedly scooted away. Real subtle, Han.

"I-" she glanced back at Toby. "I think that she will if I tell her that I was there too."

"Shit!" Hanna cut off any protests that Toby may have made. "Shit, I have to go." She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and rocketed up. She decidedly kept her back to Caleb. "Let me know what happens, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Spencer was immediately suspicious. Hanna might pretend not to care about Caleb, but Spencer know that it was just an act. She was incredibly hurt, justifiably so, and she wanted to ensure that she didn't let Caleb back into her heart too quickly. But- this just didn't make sense.

"I- um I'm meeting Em. See you tomorrow." She slid out the door before any more questions could be voiced.

"She's never going to forgive me," Caleb groaned and dropped his face to be cradled by his hands. "Why should she? I screwed everything up."

Spencer kissed Toby's cheek before pulling herself out of his lap and over to Caleb. She sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Caleb, just breath. She _will _forgive you. You just need to hang in there, alright? Keep doing what you're doing. Just give her the space that she needs, and in the mean time we'll figure this okay."

"Do you have any ideas, Spence?"

She smiled softly at Toby. She always smiled at him; when she heard him, when she saw him, she just couldn't help but smile. No one had ever made her happy like Toby did. "Well, I don't think that this was -A."

"What do you mean?" That had Caleb's immediate attention.

"-A has always wanted us to figure out who killed your mom, Toby. I don't know why. I don't know what the situation is, but that's always been for certain. I think part of it was to torment you, but that certainly wasn't all of it. -A never does anything without a reason. But- honestly, I don't think -A and the person that killed your mom are the same person. Why would -A have given us clues toward something that could lead us to them? Anonymity is their thing." She closed her eyes, hating the feeling that something crucial was just out of her reach. "We're looking for two different people."

"What did the text you got after we ran out say, Spence?" Caleb asked her softly.

"He knew too much," she replied immediately, that annoying feeling was back. There were dots that she should be connecting right now. There was something that she should be understanding. And without warning it hit her. "Oh my God," she breathed, standing up.

"What?" Toby asked her, reaching out for her hands. His concern was etched into his face. "Spencer, what did you figure out?"

"He knew too much. That's a play on the text that we got after Hanna got hit by that car." Now she was more confused than she ever had been. "That doesn't make any sense. They have knowledge of -A, but they were involved with Mrs. Cavanaugh?"

Nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

HPOV

She sighed in frustration as she stood next to the dumpster behind the Brew. Her eyes kept traveling up to the loft's living room window. If any of them looked outside and saw her she'd have a hell of a time explaining this. She literally had no idea why she was hiding this from them, but she knew that she had to. As angry as she was with Caleb, she had to help protect him. Maybe Mrs. Hastings could help, but she wasn't willing to take bets on maybes.

She blew out a frustrated breath through her nose and glanced at the time on her cell phone. 10:00 pm. Seriously? Psycho stalkers shouldn't be late. It went against the job description.

Enough was enough. She turned out her heel and walked around to the front of the building. This had been the day from hell. She was ready for a bubble bath and a boat load of chocolate.

"Han?"

She tensed and turned around. She loved her friends, but she had exactly zero desire to talk to any of them right now. "Hey Aria."

"What are you doing here?" Aria's smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

There was something twitchy about her, but Hanna was too upset to dwell on it. "I needed to get something from Spencer," she lied. "And she's staying with Toby while her parents are out of town. You?"

"I was going to get some coffee. Want to come with?" Aria flashed her most hopeful grin, and Hanna couldn't help but nod in agreement. She was cold, wet, and tired of standing outside in the rain. A coffee would do her good.

She shivered as she walked into the heavily air conditioned building. "It's cold in here."

"Yeah, alright," she laughed, poking Hanna in the side.

"What does that mean?" She was genuinely confused about the way that Aria was acting. What the hell was up with her? Maybe she had just gone to see Ezra or something. Having your boyfriend get shot sucks. She would know.

"Just that you have a little more to keep you warm there," she laughed and skipped ahead of Hanna to place an order.

A hot blush rose against her cheeks. Did she really look that bad? She knew that she was gaining a little bit of weight, but was it noticeable enough for her friends to even comment on it? Aria was usually so supportive. If she was commenting it had to be getting bad. She tugged on the hem of her drenched shirt, trying to cover more of her stomach flab.

"Han, I can get yours if you want? I still owe you from last week." Aria gave her a questioning glance.

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, thanks. My money's all wet anyways. I need to go blow dry it or something," she chuckled without humor. Shake it off Han. You know you're fatter than all your friends. It's not news, and Aria probably meant nothing by it. "Can I have a Vanilla Latte?"

"You mean a skinny one, right?" Aria asked her.

"Oh, um yeah." Her cheeks felt like a flipping egg frying on a skillet. If she blushed any harder she'd turn into a tomato.

The barista nodded and quickly made their drinks. Thank God it wasn't Emily. She didn't need two friends making her feel badly about herself tonight. It was like Alison's return brought out the worst in all of her friends. Aria was turning into a bit of a bitch, Emily was love struck and emotional, and Spencer was back to impulsively trying to protect them all. They needed to get their shit together. They couldn't let her control them like that.

But it was easier said than done. She smoothed down her shirt again. Maybe if it wasn't bunched up she'd feel less disgusting.

"Han!"

Hanna shook her head to snap out of her thoughts and took the hot, cardboard cup from Aria's outstretched hand. "Ar, are you okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked her as she took a small sip of her ridiculously specialized coffee order.

"I don't know, you're just being kind- you know what, don't worry about it." She took another sip of her coffee, enjoying it until she thought of the empty calories that she was drinking. She lost the weight once, and she could do it again. But it meant making certain sacrifices.

She glanced at the bathroom door, scratching the back of her neck as she considered her options. "I'll- um I'll be right back," she said softly.

She didn't wait for an answer from Aria before pulling herself up and ducking into the bathroom. She blinked a few times, not taking her eyes off of the toilet. All she had to do was stick her finger in her throat. Just one simple movement and she could make it go away. It'd be so easy.

No. _**No.**_

She wasn't that person anymore. That wasn't her. Her weight didn't have that power over her anymore. She wasn't that insecure little nobody that she was in junior high. She had three incredible friends, parents who were finally done with the fighting, and more than any of that, she had been **loved. **Because her mom was right. She didn't know if things could ever go back to normal between her and Caleb, she didn't even know what happened to make him leave her. But what she did know was that what they had was real.

Before she couldn't say no. She felt like she didn't have anything. But now she had a life full of people that helped give her that strength.

No.

-A POV

They picked up the phone and dialed the unfamiliar number, but they knew who they'd get on the other side.

_"Hello?"_

"Alison?! Is it really you?" No one knew how good at acting they were. No one knew anything about them. Especially not the bitch on the other end of the phone. She had no chance in figuring this out on her own. That's why they needed to keep Spencer busy with the mystery surrounding Toby's mom's death. She was the only one who would have have hope in figuring this out.

_"Hey! I- I missed you."_

They could hear the smile in her voice. If only she knew.

**Next Chapter:**

_"I need you to turn to page 364 and read silently in your-" The teacher cut off her monotone rambling to look up at the door. "Yes?"_

_Spencer turned around in her seat, and it was all that she could do to suppress a groan as she saw Alison standing in the doorway. "Did you miss me?"_


	10. Chapter 10

**Just in case you don't read my other story, this hasn't been updated in so long because I just got out of the hospital! I had to get emergency surgery, and I'm home recovering now! So you can expect regular updates again :)**

**This chapter isn't the most action packed, but it sets up the next thing they're going to work on. So there's that! If it seems a bit choppy... it was almost done awhile ago. I just finished it. So there was a month break while writing this!**

**Not having the best day! I'm in a fair amount of pain! So reviews, you know, will make everything better!**

**Also, needless to say, this is totes AU now that the season has started.**

Chapter 10

SPOV

Since middle school it had been tradition for Spencer, Hanna, Aria, Alison, and Emily to meet together for coffee at the Brew before school. It was their chance to wake up before being thrown to the lions at Rosewood High School and Alison's chance to get a few digs in before school. The girls continued the tradition after the apparent death of their ringleader, albeit with an incredible drop in tension and toxicity. It was actually a morning routine that she enjoyed. But today she wasn't going. She was going to lay in Toby's arms until it was either get your butt out of bed or skip school.

When she opened her eyes in the morning she was awake. There was no rolling back over for another half hour of sleep for her. When she was up she was up. But today that didn't bother her. Because as creepy as it sounded, she loved to watch her boyfriend sleep. So often when he slept his forehead was creased with tension. He spent so much time worrying about her, and even more recently he spent a great deal of his spare time investigating his mother's death. It wasn't often that he got a peaceful rest.

Maybe she could help with that. Spencer rolled over in his arms and stretched up to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. She didn't want to wake him up, she mostly just wanted to show him that she was there. "I love you," she whispered into his hairline.

And God, was that the truth. She loved him more than anything. How could she not? After everything he did for her she was eternally in his debt, but that was the point of love. He would never come collecting. But that wasn't even it. She was sure that she loved Toby before she thought that he joined the -A team. That's why it hurt so bad when he turned around in that black hoodie. But since then she just found it unfathomable the lengths that he went to in order to keep her safe. They still haven't talked much about those days, and that was really for both of their benefit. She didn't want to think about it, and she didn't want him to find out about her less than savory activities. But God, he dropped everything for the chance at protecting her. He could have handled it better. He should have told her. He should have come for her when he found out that she was in Radley. But his intentions were the absolute purest, and she could never thank him enough for that part of it all.

She was torn from her pensive thoughts from a loud buzzing from her cell phone, indicating that she was receiving a text message. Who the hell was calling her this early? No one but Emily would even be awake.

"Spencer, I love you, I really do. But if your phone wakes me up again I'm throwing it out the window," Toby mumbled and pressed his lips to the side of her neck.

"I'm sorry," she yawned and reached across the bed to snag her phone off of the end table.

_'I'm going to ignore the fact that your bed hasn't been slept in if you're home in twenty minutes. -Mom'_

Why was her mom home? She was supposed to be in Boston. That didn't even make sense. She typed out a quick response telling her that she was bringing Toby. No more secrets, right? This was the best way to do that, by bringing Toby into her secret pow wows.

She rolled back over in his arms and softly ran her fingers down his prominent jaw. "Do you want to come with me?" She asked softly. She didn't know how awake he was, so she wanted to bring him out of his slumber gently.

"Come with you where?" He mumbled while already sitting up. She should have known the answer to that question.

"My house, I guess. For some reason my mom's back from Boston early and wants me to come home." It didn't make any sense. Since when were her parents the caring type? This had to be some kind of lawyer business.

"And she'll be okay with my being there?" He asked her curiously.

"Probably not, but I don't care." She moved closer to him, pressing her body against his and burying her face in his chest. "No more secrets, right?"

"No more secrets," he agreed, brushing his hand down the length of her head and onto her back.

It didn't take them long to get dressed and arrive at her house. She didn't understand what they were doing here, because her mom was supposed to be in Boston for the rest of the week. She pushed through the door with the hand that wasn't attached to Toby's and led him through the front door. She was going to call out, but she heard the low murmur of voices coming from the living room.

It was almost comical, the chilly greeting that she received when she walked through the door. Her parents sat together in a huddled group on the couch. "What's going on?" Spencer asked, confused. "I thought you guys wouldn't be back until next week."

Her dad eyed Toby, and it was a mark of how far their relationship had come that he didn't comment on the fact that it was obvious that she stayed with him; mostly due to the fact that she was still wearing his shirt. Her mom looked up and smirked a little bit. "Didn't come home last night?"

"I-" she began, not really sure how to respond to her mother's sass. "I was scared," she sighed. "It's been a hectic couple days." She didn't like admitting fear to anyone; not her parents, not her friends, and not even Toby. Actually, especially not Toby. He would go to the ends of the earth to protect her, even at his own detriment. She wouldn't allow him to do that. Her parents and friends would protect her too, but Toby would go significantly further than any of them would. She had to protect him too.

"Look, we trust you, obviously," her mother began, slightly uncomfortably.

"But, how do I put this delicately?" Her dad interjected pensively. "If I end up a grandpa before I'm fifty I'll lock you in a chastity belt and put Toby's balls in a jar on the mantle for decoration."

"You did not just say that," she moaned. She released Toby's hand so that she could cover her hot cheeks with both of her hands. She could hear both of her parents laughing, but she didn't uncover her eyes until she felt Toby's gentle hand brushing up and down her arm. She glanced back and saw the slowly fading red on his cheeks. She couldn't help but smile because the blush on her was embarrassing but the blush on Toby was completely adorable.

"We didn't just call you here to embarrass you Spence. We genuinely have something to tell you," her dad said quietly. Spencer sat on the chair across from them and Toby perched on the arm. When her dad saw that she was sitting he continued. "This came back channel, and you have to avoid sharing this with anyone except for your friends."

Spencer pressed her lips together and nodded. Who else would she tell anyway? She reached for Toby's hand as she watched her parents exchange an uneasy look. "Now that it has been confirmed that Alison is alive there is no more opposition to the exhumation of the body in the grave," her mom began to carefully explain. "The tests should be performed in a few hours."

"So they'll know who she is?" Spencer asked. Maybe if they knew who was buried in Alison's grave they would be able to surmise who would want to hurt her. She knew that Alison said that she thought that it was Sara Harvey, but for all Spencer knew Sara Harvey was -A. She wouldn't believe anything until it was proven by science.

"Assuming she ever had her fingerprints taken, her DNA swabbed, or been to the dentist we should know who she is by tomorrow morning at the latest." Her dad glanced down his watch. "Now, if you're going to feed your coffee addition you need to get going. We expect to see you after school." His lips twitch as he looked between Spencer and Toby.

"Will you call and let me know when you hear something?" Spencer asks quickly, pulling herself to her feet. "I just- once I know who she is I feel like I can let this go. I know I didn't hurt her, but-"

"We'll let you know sweetheart," her mom interjected softly. "Go get your coffee with the girls. I feel like we've given you plenty to talk about."

It was just then that she noticed the soothing motion of Toby's thumb brushing across the back of her hand. He was always so steady. Half of the time she thought that he was the only reason she was able to keep her sanity. Spencer nodded briefly and turned toward the door without letting go of Toby's hand. She grabbed her bag in a smooth motion and walked out the back door.

"Let me drive you to school?" Toby's hot breath tickled her neck as he dropped down to press a gentle kiss to her neck.

Sometimes she forgot how much comfort he could offer her with just a few syllables. But he always reminded her. "I need to stop at the Brew and talk to the girls," she said softly. "And today is Alison's first day back. I know you don't want-"

"What I want is to take you to school," he murmured, this time pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"Well don't let me stop you," she whispered.

She felt him smile against her lips as he reached behind her and pulled open the door to his truck. Like a perfect gentleman he helped her into the truck and shut the door behind her.

The drive to the Brew was steeped in comfortable silence. Toby's thumb rubbed out a gentle pattern on the back of her hand as she stared out the window. Rosewood was familiar to her as the back of her hand. But while most people found comfort in their hometown, but there was something different about Rosewood. There were demons in their midst.

They pulled up in front of the quaint building, and Toby wordlessly hopped out of the truck and came to her side. His large hands wrapped around her arms and helped her down from the high truck. His lips brushed against her temple. "I'll go get our coffee. You go warn your friends that you brought company."

"Probably a good idea," she murmured, pressing one last kiss to his lips before pulling away. She walked to their usual booth, trying to avoid the eyes of all of her friends on her.

"I see you brought Loser Toby," Alison sneered. "You certainly regressed while I was gone."

This was ridiculous. She was not going to talk to him like that. "Call him that again, Ali. Try it and see what I do." She never thought she'd be the fighting type, but she was pretty sure that she would punch the smug blonde in the face over Toby.

Hanna chewed on her lip and glanced between the two girls. She settled on Ali, obviously trying to diffuse the tension. "Ali, have they found your mom yet?"

"No," she snorted. "She's probably asleep at some spa somewhere. She'll surface eventually."

Spencer started slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder, but she immediately knew it was Toby and relaxed. Somehow he could make everything better. He kissed her temple and passed a jumbo coffee into her hand. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she said softly, leaning up to kiss him. It wasn't a lie. She was fine now that he was there. She slipped her hand into his and pulled him down into a chair.

"Hey Toby!" Aria's voice was falsely cheerful.

"Hey," he said in his soft drawl. The one that he reserved for people that he didn't know well.

It looked like Emily was going to speak with them, but Spencer knew that she needed to get out her news first. "Hold on, guys I have something to say." It was almost comical how all eyes turned to her. She didn't love being a leader, but she did enjoy being able to help. She liked taking care of her friends.

She glanced at Toby before explaining the conversation they had with her parents this morning.

"Wait," Hanna stated as she finished. "Wait, are you being serious? They're finally going to figure out who's in the flipping grave?"

Spencer nodded, her eyes swiveling to Toby's stairs as movement caught her eye. She glanced back at Hanna as Caleb descended the stairs. He certainly had some interesting timing.

Hanna caught Spencer's gaze and followed her line of sight. When her baby blues caught sight of her ex and soft sigh escaped her lips. "He just doesn't give up."

"He still loves you, Han," Aria prodded gently.

Spencer nodded emphatically. She knew that like she knew anything. Caleb loved Hanna in the same way that Toby loved her. She could see it in the way that he looked at her, and he could feel it in the way that her name rolled off of his tongue. She had expected her news to have a bigger impact than this, but she was actually kind of thrilled that they still had the ability to act like high schoolers.

"Hey guys," Caleb smiled hesitantly, talking only to Hanna.

"Well, hello there," Alison said seductively.

And it was in that moment that Spencer realized that Alison and Caleb had never met. She didn't know who Caleb was, but Caleb certainly knew who she was. He gave her an unimpressed glance before turning back to Hanna. He opened his mouth to talk, but Alison cut him off, never one to be ignored. "Who are you?"

"Caleb," he replied shortly.

Spencer glanced at Hanna and couldn't help but snort at the smile that rivaled her own. Alison was their friend, but she was a difficult person to get along with. It was always a good thing when people stood up to her.

She was immediately distracted by Toby's soft lips against her neck. "I hate to interrupt this cute little sniping session, but if you guys don't get going you're going to be late for that high school thing."

She glanced down at her watch and choked on her sip of coffee when she saw the time. "Shit!"

Toby chuckled and briefly kneaded her neck muscles. "I'll get you there in time."

She nodded and jumped to her feet. "Bye guys," she mumbled. "Good luck with your first day, Ali."

Mumbled see you laters filled the table as she vacated the Brew with Toby at her side. He ran his fingers down her arm and interlocked their fingers together. "I kind of love you a lot, Spence."

She took one last glance back at the Brew and her friends before turning to Toby with a smile. "I love you too." Everything would be okay as long as he was by her side.

**Next Chapter:**

**Mrs. Hastings ran her fingers through her hair. "Spencer, we got the results of the exhumation of the body."**

**Spencer jumped up from Toby's lap, putting both of her feet on the ground to steady herself. "Tell me."**


End file.
